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Jordie Barrett pinpoints the two biggest French threats for All Blacks
All Blacks star Jordie Barrett has highlighted two French stars as the biggest threats posed to New Zealand ahead of their clash with Les Bleus in Paris on Sunday [NZT].
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The All Blacks will close out their 2021 campaign against a highly-touted French side this weekend in a match that acts as a dress rehearsal for the two teams’ opening World Cup clash at the Stade de France in two years’ time.
Since the 2019 World Cup, France have improved drastically, as reflected by their back-to-back runner-up finishes in the last two Six Nations and last year’s Autumn Nations Cup.
An under-strength France outfit bereft of numerous headline players also pushed the Wallabies in their three-match test series in July, emphasising their growing depth and improved consistency in the international arena.
Among those impressed by the French rugby revolution is Barrett, who said he has been keeping tabs of their progress in recent years.
“Obviously I’m an avid footy follower and I was looking through their team naming this morning, and I couldn’t believe how little test caps a lot of those players have,” he told reporters from the French capital on Friday [NZT].
“It feels like they’ve been around forever, but I guess that just shows the quality that they are. They’ve been so good in the Six Nations in the past three or four years, they’ve got a young, quality core, and there’s a lot of hype around them at the moment.
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“They play a big power game, they’ve got a massive pack, but, then again, they can run rings around you too, so I guess, with any French team, you don’t really know what to expect.”
All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, who has been named to start in the No 2 jersey this weekend, echoed Barrett’s sentiments as he reserved praise for their efforts against a full-strength Wallabies team four months ago.
“I think they’re probably a lot more consistent. I think 2018 was the last time they came over [to New Zealand]. Like I said, they’ve been playing with a lot of belief,” Coles said.
“They just look like a real consistent team, and they obviously have that French flair that we love to see, so I think they’re in a good position, mate.
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“Even the team that they sent over to Aussie, they pushed Aussie to game three, and that wasn’t their strongest team, but they had a lot of guys that stepped up and created a lot of depth in their team, so definitely a team that’s playing some good footy at the moment and a team on the rise.”
As the All Blacks open the final chapter of their unprecedented test campaign, head coach Ian Foster has made a handful of changes in a bid to beat Les Bleus. #AllBlacks #FRAvNZL #AutumnNationsSeries https://t.co/uJQHsEMI2x
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 19, 2021
Central to France’s newfound success has been the rise of their young nucleus of players, a group of which that have been spearheaded by halves partners Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
The duo have cemented themselves as two of rugby’s brightest young prospects, illustrated by the appointment of Dupont, 25, as captain of Fabien Galthie’s squad and Ntamack, 22, being crowned 2019 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.
It comes as little surprise, then, that Barrett named both players as individuals the All Blacks must shut down if they are to come away from Paris with a season-ending victory.
“Probably stating the obvious, but Antoine Dupont, who’s, I guess, the life of their team,” Barrett, who will start at fullback for the All Blacks this weekend, said.
“A lot of their play revolves around him. He’s a quality No 9, world-class No 9, and he dictates a lot of their play. I guess if we can stifle a lot of things he wants to get done in the game, we’ll go a long way to winning it.
“His combination with Romain Ntamack, obviously a quality young spine, class operators and it’s a clash I’m looking forward to.”
Comments on RugbyPass
late hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to comments