| By :
Jackie De Burca
In an interview with the French sports daily paper, L'Equipe, French Rugby Coach Marc Lievremont admits that his team are now set to try and emulate the new style of play of the All Blacks, although he also said he doesn't like to admit to it. Former All Blacks veteran Craig Dowd said on the Sportal podcast State of the Union that: "What we are seeing is a mental edge, a really tough mental edge, from the All Blacks forward pack." They have just proved in the Tri Nations that they can play three big games, squashing talk about the All Blacks peaking between Rugby World Cups, giving them a confidence that should outweigh the fear of peaking too early. Lievrement has said that the All Blacks are leading the way at the moment and that teams from the northern hemisphere have a great deal of work to do leading into the Rugby World Cup. He said that the All Blacks are playing a game plan with a maximum of three passes, except when they are finishing. He commented that it is a new trend in the Tri Nations which is a consequence of the new law interpretations; kicking is only being used offensively. They are attacking from the defence and playing while advancing all the time with the ball carrier provoking duals. To make matters worse for All Black opposition, the All Blacks assistant coach, Steve Hansen has said that "There's still a lot of improvement in our game from last week." He said that they only played at 70% of their capacity when they won 49-28 against the Wallabies. The All Blacks will play Australia in the Bledisloe Cup on the neutral territory of the Hong Kong Stadium, on Saturday 30th October 2010. Other tournaments coming up before the Rugby World Cup which takes place from 9th September to 23rd October 2011, will be the IRB Sevens World Series and of course the RBS 6 Nations. The Rugby World Cup 2011 will take place in New Zealand on the home turf of the All Blacks. For those supporters who decide to follow their teams in the World Cup, it promises to be the trip of a lifetime filled with rugby excitement and drama. New Zealand has a wealth of striking scenic attractions to offer visitors. Will we see France meet New Zealand in the quarter finals in Christchurch? Will France have emulated the All Blacks sufficiently by then? Which teams will be meeting on 23rd October 2011 for the finals in Auckland?
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