Lomu wary of French comebacks
June 28, 2001

Nothing short of a "take-no-prisoners" mentality will be required by the All Blacks to avoid another bad French rugby memory on Saturday, Jonah Lomu said on Thursday.

The big winger revealed he has been given a free rein by coach Wayne Smith for the one-off Test against France in Wellington.

France, he said, were the type of opponents on which you couldn't afford to ease off because they'd bounce straight back at any time.

Lomu, who has a 50 percent win-loss record in six matches against the French, has been part of the All Blacks who in recent times have been humiliated by their unpredictability.

He suffered the indignation of being turned inside out by the French when he started his Test career in 1994.

On that occasion, France lost the first Test but rebounded to win the next match and square the series with a try that started near their own goal posts in the last few seconds at Eden Park, Auckland.

Against heavy odds in 1999, the French ended the All Blacks' World Cup run in the semifinals. The New Zealanders complained they were bullied and were subjected to some unsavoury incidents then.

After losing the first Test in Paris last year, France hit straight back the following week to win the return match at Marseilles.

"Don't give them a second chance," Lomu warned. "When you've got them on the end of the line, you basically want to cut the line off so they don't have a second chance. You've got to take every opportunity and cut off all their chances of a comeback.

"The mentality taken into these sort of games is you've got to take no prisoners."

The French comeback in the 1994 second Test at Eden Park and then the World Cup should be enough caution for the All Blacks to be aware and alert for the entire game.

Lomu said some soul-searching led him to believe: "The way to combat the French when you're on the lead is not just defend the lead but keep on attacking and don't take a backward step - don't give them any yardage."

The difference between teams such as Australia and South Africa and France was that the Wallabies' and the Springboks' game was structured, Lomu said.

"The French will run it from anywhere, chuck it from anywhere. They seem to have a bond between each other that's pretty hard to find. These guys, when they click, they're almost world beaters."

Lomu said he had consciously upped his workrate in recent matches.

"I think I've found a way to get myself into the game and I'm really comfortable with it. Smithy (All Blacks coach Wayne Smith) has given me an open licence to come in somewhere, anywhere and try to stay on my feet as long as possible to get the forwards there." - Sapa-NZPA

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