by It’s time again for France and New Zealand. These words should make any rugby connoisseur shudder – and by and large they do. There are other more intense rivalries – the All Blacks against South Africa or Australia, for example, or England against, well, everyone – but despite the promise of all that is sacred in unity, the brutality and the artistry, nothing captures the imagination like the encounter on Saturday evening in Paris.
This is even more true when you consider that a quarter of a century has passed since the greatest episode between France and New Zealand – some say the best game, period. On Halloween 1999, a suitably significant date, the two met at Twickenham in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup. What transpired, as few people familiar with the game need remember, was the kind of nightmare that only the French seem capable of inflicting on the All Blacks, who saw their 24-10 lead early in the second half -lead turned into a barely credible 43-10 lead. 31 defeat.
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Nowadays such a comeback may seem perfectly normal, such is the wild and exciting nature of the modern game, but back then France’s victory went against everything we thought we knew about rugby – indeed, a sign of things to come. There was unbridled boasting about France’s victory, as if it were a completely natural course of events and not an undermining of any rational thought. Eight years later, in the quarter-finals of the 2007 World Cup in Cardiff, in the other legendary knockout match between the two, the French were probably even bigger underdogs, but they played as if they were before they were and after realizing that the game was within reach.
In both cases it was the All Blacks who strutted into town, clearly the best team in the world at the time, especially in 2007. Both times they finished the game in complete shock, unable to understand how events had unfolded against them, a haunting situation from which the team often considered the best in history would emerge in the years after 2007.
But 1999 stands out because the All Blacks were simply outplayed by an inspired team. The occasion exuded charisma, nowhere more so than in the form – the completely different forms – of the two wingers Jonah Lomu and Christophe Dominici, both of whom are tragically no longer with us.
In the games between France and New Zealand, which have now become legendary, the French usually won. That’s because no one else can go from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again like he can. In fact, France ended the last edition of the Five Nations with a wooden spoon in 1999 and then lost 54-7 to the same All Blacks in Wellington in June.
France was almost always the underdog. This is borne out by the humiliating beating they suffered at the hands of New Zealand, and one must feel that they tend to go unnoticed, otherwise the legend of the game might be less revered. At the 2015 World Cup, the All Blacks beat France 62-13 in the quarter-finals in what may go down as the most humiliating defeat by a serious rugby nation ever. But the magnitude of this New Zealand victory is anything but frills. It’s not even the biggest (the 61-10 win in 2007 – again in Wellington, again in June, again in the run-up to a World Cup).
However, a new twist in the joy these days is that New Zealand is no longer a regular favorite. The bookmakers can hardly divide the teams on Saturday. New Zealand’s tour of the north has so far seen two wins from two at the home of two teams ranked in the world’s top five. Here they are playing against a third team of this elite, but the last time they played against France in Paris just over a year ago, the home team won comfortably in the opening game of the World Cup.
This event culminated in two quarter-finals in the same stadium, which have already become legendary. The rugby was so exciting, even though France and New Zealand remained separate. Now the stage is set for the latest episode between these two, who despite the crazy fluctuations in form are capable of playing the greatest rugby in their respective hemispheres. Therein lies the magic.
Attempts to arrive in Edinburgh
There should be no shortage of attempts on Saturday afternoon in Edinburgh. The litmus test for World Rugby’s newly constituted board will be how many goals Portugal scores. Os Lobos are the lowest placed of the ‘Tier 2’ nations that the big boys have granted entry to this year’s autumn internationals, a privilege they earned through their impressive World Cup campaign last year, as They beat Fiji and drew with Georgia, while losing with honors to Wales and Australia. A productive outing for Murrayfield visitors would suggest rugby’s mission to spread its gospel is moving forward.
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As expected, Scotland have changed all but one player after last week’s strangely encouraging 32-15 defeat to South Africa, with four tries to nil. They attribute this to a six-day season, but in reality they see this as a chance to test a few young players and give others the playing time they need.
Tom Jordan is the only player carried over from last weekend. He excelled in the unfamiliar position of full-back, so this will be a chance for him to improve that position a bit. Stafford McDowall will captain the side from centre, and there are two new internationals in the squad: Glasgow lock Alex Samuel and Edinburgh’s beefy flanker Ben Muncaster.
Portugal haven’t had such a great year since their World Cup heroics. They lost to the USA in Coimbra last weekend but are full of professionals from French rugby, mainly from the Pro D2, the second division. Raffaele Storti, the biggest star of their World Cup, plays his rugby in the Top 14 with Stade Français and will line up on the right wing for Portugal. His duel with Darcy Graham, who has returned from a head injury and has a good chance of moving to number one on the Scottish try scoring charts, and Arron Reed, the Sale livewire, should set the tone for an entertaining match. Needless to say, Scotland can ill afford to lose it.
