Wounded France ready to shock NZ at RWC once again

Sport360 staff 05:54 15/10/2015
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  • French players are being put through cryotherapy sessions to soothe their aches and pains while building themselves into a “rage” to convince the team that they can beat the All Blacks in the World Cup quarter-finals.

    Drained by their defeat to Ireland, Les Bleus, led by veteran captain Thierry Dusautoir, now find themselves overwhelming favourites to be beaten by New Zealand at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday. They are not happy.

    The team cryotherapy truck, especially brought over from France, is parked outside the upmarket Celtic Manor resort where they are staying.

    The truck offers evidence of their suffering in the 24-9 defeat by Ireland in their final Pool D match. The whole-body ice bath carried out inside helps speed the body’s recovery. And the French have only six days from the Ireland game to be ready for their next battle in Cardiff.

    France have upset the All Blacks before, pulling off stunning victories at the 1999 and 2007 World Cups. This time they are hurting inside as well and want the defending champions to suffer the backlash.

    “Quite honestly, this will be a game that will stay engraved in our memories for a long time,” said hooker Benjamin Kayser. “The plan is that we must have absolutely no regrets and prepare for a revolt, create a huge rage so that we can fully express our potential.”

    Full-back Brice Dulin also spoke with unashamed emotion.

    “I do not want to stop here. I really don’t,” he said. “I am here to give everything, the 23 on that match sheet as well. If we have got this far, after all this effort, the years spent in difficulty, it cannot be for nothing. Sometimes I think people think we get a pleasure out of being average. That is not the case, I assure you.”

    Despite their famous wins in 1999 and 2007, when New Zealand lost in the quarter-final, their earliest exit ever, France have not had a good run against the All Blacks, losing their last eight.

    But veteran prop Nicolas Mas said: “If we can make them have doubts we can do something. We must be united. It’s a week where we say that this may be the last. It’s special. If we lose, it is over.”

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