WHEREVER one’s loyalties may lie, there is no doubt from the purists’ point of view that the international of the weekend takes place tonight when France meet New Zealand at the Stade de France. They are the champions of their respective hemispheres, the two form sides in the world — notwithstanding the All Blacks’ loss to England — and two of the finest proponents of attacking rugby, each determined to test and stretch the parameters of the game.
The second international in Auckland in 1994, the 1999 World Cup semi-final and the 2000 international in Marseilles, each won by France, stand out among the greatest matches in rugby history.
Since France lost 54-7 in Wellington in June 1999 — the last occasion Thomas Castaignède faced