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Mehrtens: Beware unpredictable French

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Posted: Friday October 29, 1999 04:37 PM

Andrew Mehrtens thinks that "France will be more difficult than anyone we've played so far." David Rogers/Allsport

TWICKENHAM, England (AP) -- Andrew Mehrtens says the All Blacks must treat the unpredictable French with absolute caution in Sunday's World Cup semifinal.

"They're predictably unpredictable," said the All Blacks flyhalf, who was still not 100 percent certain Friday of playing the semi after picking up a knee injury in the quarterfinal.

"France will be more difficult than anyone we've played so far -- they have the ability and propensity to turn anything into attack," he said.

"They're a team which you can't go into a game against with any preconceived ideas about how they'll play."

World Cup favorite New Zealand is expected to overwhelm Europe's sole survivor and set up a decider against either Australia or South Africa.

But the French aren't prepared to give up without a fight.

"We know we're outsiders but we'll go out and give it everything and try our luck," said manager Jo Maso. "It's a big test for us."

"Even if it's just a one in ten chance of winning, I trust we will seize the opportunity."

Maso said the players had been given one-off instructions to counter the powerful All Blacks.

"We have devised a strategy to play against the All Blacks and the players have been primed,' he said. "We have to try and match them in every department."

Raphael Ibanez said while his French side would throw everything into attack, they also needed to be careful in defense.

"Any of the All Blacks can spring surprises and so we must be on guard," said the French skipper and hooker.

The All Blacks thrashed France 54-7 at Wellington in June but that was during a stretch when the French lost six of eight tests and placed last in the Five Nations championship.

Ibanez said France had learned lessons the hard way.

"It's always difficult for players to forget a defeat where there's a 50-point margin," he said. "But now its a different story. We've put in a lot of work and we've managed to put that loss behind us."

The French have strung four successive wins together in the World Cup, albeit against opposition like Canada, Fiji, Namibia, and surprise quarterfinalist Argentina.

And All Blacks coach John Hart said France was more than capable of springing an upset.

"They've got as far as they probably thought they'd get in tournament and now they're at their most dangerous -- they've got the size and speed to do it," he said.

New Zealand beat France 29-9 in the final of the inaugural World Cup in 1987 but the teams have not crossed paths in the subsequent tournaments.

After losing the decider in '87, the French were ousted by England in the quarterfinals in '91 and by South Africa in the semis in '95.

The New Zealanders have only lost two games in World Cup history, a 16-6 loss to eventual champion Australia in the 1991 semifinal and the '95 final to South Afica.

Mehrtens is one of the few All Blacks survivors of the tryless final, which the Springboks won 15-12 on an extra-time drop goal.

His position came under immense pressure in 1998 as the All Blacks slumped to a worst-ever five consecutive defeats but has been at the forefront of the All Black resurgence.

He tops the tournament player ratings after a stunning game against England and guiding the All Blacks to a 25-3 lead over Scotland before limping off in Sunday's quarterfinal.

But the Canterbury pivot says he won't be tempted into adopting France's "entertainer" tactics if it endangers the outcome.

"The challenge for us is not to go out there and show plenty of flair - it's to win the game," he said. "That is paramount, that's all that matters."

"We came out of South Africa in '95 with plenty of people saying we'd payed the better style of rugby but the Springboks won the World Cup and we won't home with nothing.

"So the style doesn't make a difference, the win is all we care about."

Mehrtens said he'd do some kicking practice but if he wasn't confident enough to kick for goal, then he wouldn't be confident enough to run.

If that's the case, backup flyhalf Tony Brown would go into the starting lineup against France.

If Mehrtens is ruled out, the All Blacks will go into the game with a new-look halves pairing after Hart selected Byron Kelleher at scrumhalf instead of Justin Marshall.

"For this game, looking at the French, Byron offers us different options -- I wouldn't say that if we go through to the final we'll make the same decision again," he said.

France has injury concerns over center Emile Ntamack, who was targeted by the All Blacks as a key to the French attack.

The 29-year-old Toulouse utility says he's recovered from a knee injury and wants to "take the All Blacks on."

 

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