The XV of France faces the All Blacks on Saturday evening (9 p.m.) at the Stade de France.
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They set out to try to relativize the event while affirming their impatience. Asked at a pre-match press conference, Friday, November 19, the captain of the Blues Antoine Dupont and Raphaël Ibanez, the manager of the team, returned to the importance for the XV of France of the third and last test match of the autumn tour against the All Blacks, Saturday (9 p.m. on France 2 and on france.tv). After having hardly beaten Argentina and Georgia, the Blues hope to have erased their imperfections to triumph against New Zealand as did rare times, their elders.
As soon as we knew that the poster would take place, we had it in the back of our minds. Afterwards, it is above all an important match in our construction, but it is a stage in our adventure.
Antoine Dupont, scrum-half and captain of the XV of Franceat a pre-match press conference
The captain of the Blues who will again be associated with his club teammate, Romain Ntamack, at the hinge, is aware of the importance of “enjoy” this match and this first haka that some will experience. But he doesn’t want to “to make a mountain”: “We felt the group relaxed, aware of the stakes of this match and above all motivated to play it “, he supports.
If France-New Zealand will be the opening match of the World Cup in France in 2023, where the Blues aspire to shine, Antoine Dupont like Raphaël Ibanez have ruled out the idea of living Saturday’s match as a great rehearsal. “It’s still too far away, we don’t really think about it”, they concluded together.