Rugby World Cup: Sporting French manager lets hosts wear All Black jersey

FRENCH rugby fans may have to tweak traditional chants of ‘Allez Les Bleus’ at Eden Park tomorrow after their team manager, in a magnanimous gesture towards New Zealand, opted to play in white to allow their World Cup final opponents to wear the traditional All Black outfit.

France won the toss for the final but team manager Jo Maser opted not to ruffle the All Blacks’ feathers, though the decision raised a few eyebrows within the team.

In the clash between the two sides at the 2007 World Cup, France won the toss and decided to play in blue, forcing New Zealand to wear grey shirts. France won the quarter-final match 20-18 before being knocked out by England in the semi-finals.

“That’s Jo Maso’s elegance,” said France coach Marc Lievremont. “Some players regret it and they would have wanted to deprive them of their preferred colour. But we will keep the same spirit, whether we play in blue or white. We could have played in pink or purple, it would have been France v New Zealand just the same.”

Hooker William Servat said he would rather Maso had made New Zealand change.

“I would have preferred to play in blue, that’s for sure, he said. “These are the colours of my country.”