By John Day
If this was any other game of rugby, I would have no concerns about the All Blacks being able to beat France this weekend.
But this isn't just any other game, this is a Rugby World Cup knockout match. A quarterfinal. In Cardiff. Against the French.
With that comes a huge amount of pressure, something a lot of All Blacks aren't that used to playing under.
The last time the All Blacks were put in a must-win situation was when the Bledisloe Cup was on the line at Eden Park against the Wallabies in August, and they absolutely destroyed them.
But it wasn't Australia's best side. Their coach Michael Chieka brought out his big guns as they found a way to beat the All Blacks in Sydney, and then holstered his weapons for the return fixture in Auckland.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen often talks about the pressure on his team of having to win every time they take the field, and every time under his reign, bar three tests (England 2012, South Africa 2014, Australia 2015), they've done that.
But have they really faced any big pressure matches in that time that can compare to being in a World Cup elimination match?
Perhaps the Rugby Championship decider in Johannesburg in 2013, but that was a fast-paced, open affair.
The Cup knockout games won't be like that.
The French players, on the other hand, encounter big pressure matches multiple times, every year.
They play under billionaire owners at huge clubs in the Top 14 competition where promotion and relegation comes with an incredible amount of pressure. Not quite like the ITM Cup where promotion and relegation doesn't really mean much.
The French also play in the European Rugby Champions Cup competition (formerly Heineken Cup). A knockout competition where they are, again, put under a helluva lot of pressure every single year.
Toulon have won the last three titles while Toulouse are the most successful team in the competition's history.
Coping with the stress of a knockout match against the French is not something the All Blacks have done well in the past. We all know the history. 1999, 2007, and even the 2011 final where France were arguably the better team.
I'm confident these All Blacks can break the mold though.
Hansen, McCaw, Carter, Mealamu, Conrad Smith, these guys have all been there before, multiple times, and this week have shown no signs of cracking under the growing media pressure.
Man for man, the All Blacks are better than the French. Much better. Only the pressure can beat them at Millennium Stadium on Sunday morning.
RadioLIVE