Cardiff win over France will put ghosts to rest

Bring on France in the quarterfinals.

That’s the attitude of former All Blacks captain Anton Oliver, who would love Steve Hansen’s men do what the 2007 team couldn’t and provide the nation with some closure in Cardiff.

Oliver, now based in London working in asset management, played the last of his 59 tests in the shock quarterfinal defeat to France at Millennium Stadium eight years ago.

Though he acknowledges the French threat, Oliver believes this All Blacks team will relish the challenge of settling the score, should they indeed meet their World Cup nemesis in the first knockout round in Cardiff once again.

‘‘The French play their best when there’s no pressure on them; when everyone has completely written them off. Then look out – I can testify to that,’’ he said. ‘‘But I really hope we get that quarterfinal.

‘‘It would be great to revisit the scene of the crime, tick that box and put a line through it. It would be great for an old boy like me who can’t get there and do it. If it did transpire that we get that far and play the French it would be a good way to provide some closure.

‘‘New Zealand psychologists might not like it because people going there for the last eight years will be able to stop.’’

Oliver believes Hansen’s All Blacks harness a better mindset than their 2007 counterparts. He attributes their success over the last World Cup cycle, losing just three games and drawing two, to continuity. In the past 11 years there have been two head coaches – Hansen and Sir Graham Henry – and two fulltime captains – Tana Umaga and Richie McCaw.

‘‘From what I see and I’m an outsider like us all, the most important thing about why we’ve had this last period of unprecedented success is consistency,’’ the 40-year-old said.

‘‘You look at the response and the output. We’ve had 90 per cent success rate. They’re real lessons for business and sport. The board should be applauded for having the courage to pick Henry and the three of them [Hansen and Wayne Smith] again.’’

Having visited the All Blacks at their London hotel this week, Oliver got a sense of their mentality.

‘‘I don’t think we’re complacent. If we don’t win it won’t because we’re egotistical or arrogant. It will be because we were beaten by a better team. That’s what happened to us in 2007 for any number of reasons.’’