Lievremont defends ‘B team’ selection

The day before facing New Zealand in the most anticipated match of the World Cup pool round, France coach Marc Lievremont was still defending his selection.

While the All Blacks have no problem with the line-up, giving the French the respect they deserve, Lievremont was answering questions for a fourth day in a row yesterday about fielding a so-called B team minus some of his best forwards and throwing scrum-half Morgan Parra into fly-half on the evidence of 35 minutes in the position in the past two weeks.

“I’m starting to be vaccinated against this,” Lievremont said. “Certain people have spoken of a scandal, because of a ‘B’ team. I would like to assure the New Zealand fans attending this match that it has never been a question of giving up on this match. We will play to win, and have chosen the best team possible.”

France’s make-up wouldn’t be an issue if Ireland hadn’t beaten Australia last weekend in the tournament’s biggest jolt yet. The Wallabies’ defeat shuffled the envisioned quarter-final match-ups. The conspiracy theorists have had a field day, suggesting New Zealand and South Africa could have an easier path to the final and avoid each other and Australia – the world’s top three ranked teams – if they lost a pool game.

The notion has been ridiculed by the Springboks – assistant coach Gary Gold said it was “preposterous” – and even the All Blacks. “We would get hung from the highest tree in New Zealand,” said assistant coach Steve Hansen.

What’s more, no team has won the World Cup after losing a pool game. But then Lievremont, a serial tinkerer of line-ups, gave the plotters and his growing critics something to stir with by benching in-form hooker William Servat and loose forward Imanol Harinordoquy and playing Parra out of position in a pivotal spot. Lievremont said he had no choice with Parra, Francois Trinh-Duc was out of form and back-up David Skrela has gone home injured.

Dimitri Yachvili cared less about the debate over his and Parra’s selections than establishing an understanding quickly so they can hit Eden Park running. Yachvili believes they can do it because Parra talks a lot on the field. “That helps,” Yachvili said.

Captain Thierry Dusautoir promised his players will be giving their all for a victory in front of a crowd of 60,000.

“The All Blacks don’t doubt it. They have named their best side since the Tri-Nations-deciding loss to Australia in Brisbane a month ago, and the chance to explode the All Blacks’ hopes at another World Cup is priceless for France.

“It would be hard [to take] for them to lose against France,” Dusautoir said. “A defeat wouldn’t condemn us, but a win would put us into the quarter-finals. We need to make the most of it and play without any fear.” France are New Zealand’s nemesis in the tournament, being responsible for the All Blacks’ two most shocking exits in 1999, when Lievremont played, and 2007.

The French are also the last team to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park, in 1994, with the celebrated “try from the end of the world.”

New Zealand left no room for sentiment in picking its best available side and dropping 98-test fullback Mils Muliaina for the exciting Israel Dagg.

Only injured No 8 Kieran Read wasn’t considered, thereby offering Adam Thomson a shot at making up for losing to the French the first time he faced them on his Dunedin home ground in 2009.

Richie McCaw has got over a minor calf strain to become the first All Black to play 100 tests, and the 19th in rugby.