Rugby: Mental strength key in 2007 French upset

It was mental strength and a touch of luck, if not great rugby, that helped France cause a second upset against New Zealand at the Rugby World Cup in 2007.

Les Bleus were facing the All Blacks at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in the quarterfinals with the odds against them, especially after they had lost a pool game against Argentina.

"It was a very special week," prop Jean-Baptiste Poux, who came into the game as a 52nd minute replacement, told Reuters two days before France take on New Zealand in another World Cup quarterfinal.

"We were kind of scared of conceding 50 points but we made it, with a bit of luck, and we gave 200%."

France were trailing 13-0 after half an hour. New Zealand had scored a 17th-minute try through Luke McAlister, converted by Dan Carter who also slotted home two penalties.

Bernard Laporte's side, however, clawed their way back into contention as they defended better after the break, conceding not a single penalty after giving away just two in the first half.

At 13-3, McAlister was sin-binned and Lionel Beauxis scored his second penalty to put France within seven points at 13-6.

Playing with one more man, France levelled after Thierry Dusautoir touched down at the end of a fine passing move on the right and Beauxis converted.

"You cannot let them build a gap that is too big, you have to stay as close as possible for as long as you can or quickly come back," said Poux.

"Then I remember they started making mistakes, they conceded penalties."

France were greatly helped by heroic defence, with no less than 197 tackles, 19 of them missed, with 38 by Dusautoir alone.

"The All Blacks made one mistake then a lot of mistakes. If you're close after 60 minutes, it's possible. They started doubting, you could see it in their eyes," said Poux.

New Zealand, however, struck back in the 63rd with Rodney So'oialo's try, opening an 18-13 lead.

That was when the luck factor came into play for France.

"There was this forward pass and a few refereeing decisions that went our way, it helped us win," Poux admitted.

In the 69th, Michalak collected a forward pass from Harinordoquy, hared towards the tryline, turned inside and set up Yannick Jauzion for France to level again.

Jean-Baptiste Elissalde converted to seal France's victory as New Zealand wasted a few more balls in the closing stages.

"You know that their rugby is better than yours, that they're physcially stronger, too, so you have to use everything you can," Poux said.

"In the week leading up to the game a few players came up with this idea to challenge their haka and it was validated by the rest of the squad."

The French came extremely close to the half line, wearing blue, white and red shirts to form a French flag in front of the All Blacks.

"We tried everything we could to unsettle them and disrupt their confidence," said Poux, who believes France have a chance on Saturday.

"Either they will win by a very small margin, or they will get thrashed," he predicted.