Guy Noves: France not gunning for All Blacks revenge
Friday 25 November 2016 10:48, UK
France coach Guy Noves has insisted his side are not seeking revenge when they clash with New Zealand on Saturday.
The All Blacks thrashed Les Blues 62-13 in the quarter-finals of the World Cup last year in Cardiff on their way to winning the tournament.
Only six of the current French starting XV featured in that game and Noves said he will not accept his players wanting vengeance at the Stade de France.
He said: "Honestly when you play the All Blacks, whether you're seeking revenge or not... if you need to be seeking revenge to perform at this level, frankly that's bad news.
"The simple fact of putting on this jersey to represent France must be the driving element of our motivation."
Camille Lopez will start at fly-half for in one of three changes from the team that narrowly lost to Australia 25-23. He will be the third different player in as many matches to wear the No10 shirt, the injured Francois Trinh-Duc having started in the 52-8 win over Samoa and Jean-Marc Doussain in the defeat to the Wallabies.
Noves has also drafted in Racing 92's Brice Dulin at full-back in place of South African-born Scott Spedding, while in the pack, Xavier Chiocci will start at loosehead prop in place of the benched Cyrille Baille.
On their first encounter with the All Blacks since the World Cup defeat, Clermont centre Remi Lamerat said: "The staff has changed, there's been a pretty big turnover of players, even if the backbone remains."
Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has picked Matt Todd to replace the injured Sam Cane in the No 7 jersey while a fit again Jerome Kaino returns as blindside flanker.
Injuries see Israel Dagg move to full-back and Ryan Crotty return to inside centre, pushing Anton Lienart-Brown out one position with Waisake Naholo starting on the right wing.
And Hansen has predicted a "titanic" final match of the year for his side.
"When it came to selecting this side, we had to make some changes because of injuries, but we also looked to pick the best side possible for what we think will be a titanic battle against the French.
"It was a very physical match in Dublin on the weekend so we have looked to get this week's preparation spot-on, both mentally and physically, as we know France will also be looking to impose themselves upon us come Saturday night."
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