World Cup openers don’t get much bigger than this. All eyes will be on Paris on Friday night to see if France can inflict a first-ever pool phase defeat on the All Blacks at a Rugby World Cup.
The hosts, rejuvenated under head coach Fabien Galthié, face the three-time champions – who head into the tournament off the back of a record-breaking 35-7 loss against South Africa at Twickenham two weeks ago.
France have not lost on home soil since Scotland beat them at an empty Stade de France in the coronavirus-affected 2021 Six Nations. It’s their only defeat in France in the Galthié era. New Zealand have never lost a pool phase match at the Rugby World Cup.
Here's everything you need to know about France v New Zealand:
What time is France v New Zealand kick-off? What TV channel is it on?Hosts France take on New Zealand at the Stade de France in Paris with kick off at 9.15pm local time, which is 8.15pm UK time.
Every game is set to be broadcast in the UK across the ITV network. Most of the matches will be shown on ITV1 and a few are on ITV4.
Coverage will start at 6.45pm on Friday (September 8) for the build up to the opening game.
Alternatively, fans can stream through their laptop, smart TV or mobile device via ITVX.
It will also be broadcast on S4C.
What's the France v New Zealand team news?France manager Fabien Galthie has had to deal with several injuries ahead of the game. Jonathan Danty, Romain Ntamack, Paul Willemse, and Cyril Baille won’t be available for their match against the All Blacks.
He has made three changes to the starting side that played Australia just under two weeks ago, including a big change in the second row. With Willemse going down with a World Cup-ending injury, Racing 92 lock Cameron Woki comes into the starting side.
New Zealand made four changes to their starting XV for their opening World Cup match after they suffered the heaviest defeat in their history in the final warm-up match against South Africa.
Scott Barrett, who was sent off in that game, starts in the second row, while his brother Jordie Barrett is out with a knee injury and is replaced by Anton Lienert-Brown in the centre.
Prop Nepo Laulala comes in for Tyrel Lomax, who suffered a cut to his knee against the Springboks, while regular starting hooker Codie Taylor replaces the 36-year-old Dane Coles.
The final change is in the back row as Dalton Papalii comes in for only his second start at blind-side flanker in place of Luke Jacobson.
France: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gaël Fickou, Yoram Moefana, Gabin Villiere; Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont (captain); Reda Wardi, Julian Marchand, Uini Atonio, Cameron Woki, Thibaud Flament, François Cros, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Dorian Aldegheri, Romain Taofifenua, Paul Boudehent, Maxime Lucu, Arthur Vincent, Melvyn Jaminet
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett; Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown, Mark Telea; Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Smith; Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, Nepo Laulala, Samuel Whitelock, Scott Barrett, Dalton Papali'i, Sam Cane (captain), Ardie Savea
Replacements: Samisoni Taukei'aho, Ofa Tuungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Tupou Vaa'i, Luke Jacobson, Finlay Christie, David Havili, Leicester Fainga'anuku
What have the coaches said?France coach Fabien Galthié didn't really talk tactics in the run up to the game, he instead talked about the "immense happiness" around the game.
He said: "This match will be a party, a joy, an immense happiness, it’s marvellous. An invisible force needs to be born in these moments. The watchword is to play, to enjoy ourselves, to love each other a lot. We’re feeling very light, very happy to play this game.
“This match against the All Blacks is a challenge in every part of rugby,” he said. “You need to control the emotions that surround these events. We’ve prepared to be the best we possibly can be in this area."
Meanwhile, New Zealand head coach Ian Foster is looking to make sure they don’t see a repeat of their Springboks defeat in the run up to the tournament.
When asked what they have learned from that game, he said: "The lessons are pretty simple, to be honest. I don’t think there’s anything there that we don’t really know, we’ve just got to get better and better.
“But certainly, it’s opened the door for others to come and try to exploit that and we’ve got to make sure we respond.”
Adding: “First lesson: Have 15 men on the field. When you lose an experienced guy who has been your power player and you lose him from your pack then you do become very vulnerable. That’s one key lesson and it’s going to be one key lesson going into the World Cup that we all know but we’ve just got to make sure that we really work hard on the discipline side of our game to keep it 15 on 15. If we’ve got 15 on 15 I’m very confident in that space.
“What we had to do was we had to adapt to a strategy. We had Josh Lord come on, we had Tamaiti Williams, we had Fletcher Newell; Fletcher hasn’t played much rugby this year, Tamaiti’s only played a couple of Test matches and there’s some massive learning going on there.
“The speed in which you have to react against a very experienced Springbok team, and they utilised their front and their back particularly well. They only had one lineout maul go through us, so they were smart and they were smart against a team with a red card.”
What is the fixture history between the two teams?This is the eighth time these two sides have met in Rugby World Cups. The All Blacks have won five of the previous seven fixtures - including the finals of both the 1987 and 2011 tournaments, and the quarter-final of the 2015 tournament when they came within three points of recording their biggest-ever win against Les Bleus.
The remarkable 1999 semi-final aside, France’s only other win over New Zealand in Rugby World Cups came in the 2007 quarter-final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, when they fought back from 13-3 down at half-time to win 20-18.
France flanker Thierry Dusautoir scored a try - and made an astonishing 38 tackles in the comeback win.
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There are big clashes all over the pitch in this showstopper of a Rugby World Cup opener. Antoine Dupont against Aaron Smith; Gregory Alldritt versus Ardie Savea; rising star Thibaud Flament against Scott Barrett. But, in the absence of the injured Romain Ntamack, 24-year-old Jalibert’s challenge is to manage the game and, perhaps, provide the decisive spark of flair. Opposite him, the All Blacks' first-choice 10, who will be determined to lay down his own marker on the match from the start.
Pick up your brilliant 48-page guide to the Rugby World Cup here and get the official match programmes for every game here
