France motivated by fear
JUNE SPOTLIGHT: When you are ‘scared’ you play good rugby, says France centre Mathieu Bastareaud ahead of the match against the feared All Blacks.’
Bastareaud will captain a weakened visiting outfit, with only the Toulon centre and Maxime Medard remaining from the team that last beat the All Blacks in 2009.
France were the last team to overcome New Zealand at Auckland’s Eden Park, way back in 1994, since when the hosts are unbeaten in 40 games – including the 2011 World Cup final when they edged Les Bleus 8-7.
Bastareaud, who has a chequered record in New Zealand after falsely claiming he was assaulted in Wellington in 2009, described the All Blacks as “a mythical team and jersey”.
🔴 Le #XVdeFrance défie les @AllBlacks en #TerreDeLégendes. Découvrez la composition des Bleus pour le premier des 3 tests matches du mois de juin contre la 🇳🇿 Nouvelle-Zélande samedi à l’Eden Park d’Auckland. #NZLFRA #soutiensleXV pic.twitter.com/n882i6vI6F
— FF Rugby (@FFRugby) June 6, 2018
The 29-year-old, who admitted its an overwhelming challenge they face, will look to motivate less experienced teammates ahead of Saturday’s clash, believes they would be better off playing with fear – as he did nine years ago.
“We have Maxime Medard and myself who have won here before and we talk about that to the young guys, to motivate them, to make them hungry about this,” he said
“It’s not the same players or teams as then, it’s very different.
“I remember it was unreal. I was never thinking we’d win that game because we played with fear.
“But, for me, I think when you are scared, you play good rugby, you play a good game.
“So tomorrow, I hope we will be scared,”
