Veteran Ireland hooker Rob Herring never doubted his ability to play at a Rugby World Cup as he prepares to make up for past disappointments with an overdue tournament debut.

South Africa-born Herring has been selected to start Saturday’s Pool B opener against Romania ahead of the fit-again Ronan Kelleher and in the absence of the injured Dan Sheehan.

The 33-year-old was called up by Joe Schmidt in the build-up to the 2015 and 2019 competitions before being cut from the final squads.

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He subsequently flew to Japan four years ago as an injury replacement for Sean Cronin but was not involved as Ireland crashed out in the quarter-finals to New Zealand and has since been eclipsed by the emergence of Leinster pair Sheehan and Kelleher.

“Yeah, it’s been a long run for me,” said Herring. “I was involved in the two previous World Cup pre-seasons and missed out on selection so I think all the work over the last year, it’s paid off to be here now.

“I always believed I was good enough to be here. The selection calls were tight in the last World Cup.

“I’ve been heavily involved in the squad since the last World Cup and I’m really enjoying my time under Faz (Andy Farrell) and the leadership of the coaches.

“It has been a great four years, and I’m just raring to go now.

“There’s obviously a bit more hype around the World Cup and a bit more pressure on games but that’s what we’ve been building for. Personally, I think I’m in a good place.”

Herring, who qualifies for Ireland through a grandparent, made his international debut as a replacement flanker during the 2014 tour of Argentina.

He had won just eight caps when head coach Farrell succeeded Schmidt after the 2019 World Cup but started all five matches of the 2020 Guinness Six Nations following the retirement of Rory Best.

Despite remaining a squad regular, Herring, who is set for his 38th Test outing this weekend, has become more peripheral since the breakthrough of dynamic duo Kelleher and Sheehan.

“My mindset going into it is this is just the start,” said the Ulster player.

“It’s a massive honour to be selected for the squad but this is just the start of it. I want to put my best foot forward and contribute to the team as well as I can.

“I think if I nail my role and everyone else does theirs, we will put in a strong performance.”

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Ireland will be led by Johnny Sexton in Bordeaux on his return from suspension and injury.

Herring believes fly-half Sexton is the type of captain team-mates “want to follow into battle”.

“Johnny is one of the most competitive guys I’ve ever played under,” he said.

“I think that’s his massive point of difference. He’s unbelievably driven, he drives the standards at training, off the pitch, everything.

“He’s got an incredible winning mindset so he’s the kind of guy you really want to follow into battle. You know he’s going to be right up there at his best and giving it his all. It’s been great having him back.”

Mick Easterby has paid a heartfelt tribute to Derby-winning jockey Edward Hide, who has died at the age of 86.

Hide had a long and distinguished association with the Easterby stable, but his crowning glory came when winning the 1973 Derby with Morston for Arthur Budgett, pipping Lester Piggott on Cayo Doro.

Three-times champion apprentice in the 1950s, Hide won the prestigious ‘Cock of the North’ accolade 16 times.

Writing on his website Easterby said: “It is with great sadness today that I heard of the passing of my great buddy Eddie Hide.

“Eddie Hide was quite simply one of the best Flat jockeys I have seen seen. He was wonderful.

“In my career I have been fortunate to put up two of the finest jockeys. Sadly 2023 has seen the passing of both Eddie and my former stable jockey Terry Lucas.

“In the 1970s I’d put Eddie up whenever I had a runner in any of the big races and he never let me down once. Eddie had it all. He was an intelligent man and he knew the formbook inside out.

“You could get rich quite quickly backing Eddie on my horses, because he only rode them when he knew they were going to win.”

Hide won the 1000 Guineas for Easterby on Mrs McArdy in 1977 and was associated with the champion sprinter of 1976, Lochnager, winning the Temple, the King’s Stand, the July Cup and the William Hill Sprint Trophy (now Nunthorpe).

Easterby went on: “I owe a great deal to Eddie Hide. He rode the biggest winners of my career and he helped put the stable on the map in the 1970s.”

Warren Gatland says that Wales are “in a good place” as they prepare to launch their Rugby World Cup challenge against Fiji.

Gatland, taking charge of his fourth World Cup as Wales head coach, has been boosted by the return to fitness of 100-cap number eight Taulupe Faletau.

He will make his first Wales appearance since last season’s Six Nations after recovering from a calf muscle problem that sidelined him for Wales’ three-Test warm-up schedule.

Faletau goes straight into the starting line-up, packing down alongside back-row colleagues Aaron Wainwright and skipper Jac Morgan.

“We’ve had some good clarity about what we want to achieve and the way we want to play on the weekend,” Gatland said.

“The boys are looking sharp, there is a great environment in this group – players working for each other, enjoying each other’s company.

“We are in a good place and can’t wait to get out there and get our Rugby World Cup campaign under way.”

While Faletau returns, though, hooker and Morgan’s co-captain Dewi Lake does not make the matchday 23.

The Ospreys hooker suffered a knee injury during Wales’ encounter against England at Twickenham last month, and Gatland added: “The medical team has done a fantastic job getting Dewi back to full fitness.

“He has not had as much training under his belt as the other hookers since he picked up that knock to his knee, so Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee are selected for us for this game.”

Elias starts, and there are also opportunities for the likes of centre Nick Tompkins and scrum-half Gareth Davies.

Flanker Tommy Reffell, meanwhile, has been named among the replacements, being passed fit after missing training on Wednesday due to a knock.

There are five World Cup debutants in Gatland’s starting line-up and it will be the fifth successive World Cup where Wales and Fiji meet.

Centre George North joins a select group of Welsh players to feature in four World Cups, emulating Alun Wyn Jones, Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins.

Scarlets number nine Davies has won Gatland’s starting vote ahead of Tomos Williams as he clocks up World Cup number three.

“Twelve months ago I probably wouldn’t have thought I would be involved in the first game of a World Cup, but anything can happen in rugby, as we all know.” Davies said.

“I have worked extremely hard over the last year to work myself into contention, and hopefully I can show that on Sunday.

“Playing in a World Cup is the pinnacle. We have a few young guys in the squad – they are really excited about it – and plenty of experience.

“Fiji are going to be a very tough team to beat, but it is a challenge we are looking forward to.”

Since being dumped out of the World Cup by Fiji 16 years ago in Nantes, Wales have reeled off three successive wins.

Sunday’s encounter is huge in the context of a group where Australia and ever-improving Georgia will also be vying for qualification.

Sione Tuipulotu was overcome with emotion as he revealed his mother’s trip across the world to watch him play for Scotland for the first time will give him all the motivation he needs for Sunday’s World Cup showdown with South Africa.

The Australia-born centre is qualified to represent the Scots through his grandmother, Jacqueline, from Greenock and he has become one of Gregor Townsend’s main men since making his debut in autumn 2021, shortly after he joined Glasgow.

While Tuipulotu’s Tongan father Fohe has been over to watch him play for Scotland, his mother Angelina – who is from south-east Melbourne after her Scottish and Italian parents moved there – has not been able to attend any of his matches in person since he left Melbourne Rebels in 2019.

The 26-year-old apologised to journalists as he welled up with tears and briefly paused to compose himself while outlining the journey his mother had undertaken to get herself to France to see her son play on the biggest stage in rugby.

“My mum got here yesterday and it will be the first time she’ll have watched me play rugby for quite a while,” said Tuipoluto, speaking at the team’s base in the south of France on Thursday. “I had a chat with her yesterday when she got to Paris.

“It was quite an emotional phone call, she just said how proud she was. Obviously it’s her mum that is part of my Scottish heritage and she said she is really proud when she sees me during the anthem and hears the background in terms of Murrayfield, the noise and stuff like that (while watching on television).

“I can’t really imagine how she is going to feel this weekend with the noise in Marseille when I’m playing the world champions. That is part of my motivation this week, I don’t need any extra motivation because my mum is over and she hasn’t seen me play for a while.

“She travelled all the way from Australia. She explained the route to me and she had quite a hard time with admin. She is terrible with admin just like me and she made a few mistakes along the way but she’s here, she made it.”

Asked if it was thinking about the length of journey his mother had undertaken from Australia that caused him to choke back the tears, Tuipulotu said: “Not just that journey but her journey in general.

“Everyone has their rugby journey in terms of where they’ve come from. When it’s your own mum, only you know what she has been through to get you to this point. Her story is something I have always thought about as a motivation for me in my rugby and I suppose it’s all just climaxed towards this weekend.

“She last watched me when I was in Melbourne playing for the Rebels. She was always there every game, the same as my dad who has been over to Scotland to watch me play a couple of times which has been cool. But this one is a little bit more special just because it is my mum and I am very emotional about it.”

Since joining Glasgow from Japanese club Yamaha Jubilo in 2021, Tuipulotu has become a first-choice pick for Scotland and one of the most highly-regarded centres in the world.

“I would be lying if I said to you I didn’t think it was going to be achievable because I have always backed myself through my whole career,” he said of his impressive rise to prominence.

“I have always been a confident player and when I moved over to Scotland, I had the goal that if I was going to move that far away from my family, I was going to make it happen.

“You need some things to go your way in order to make it happen and I got lucky with the coaches I had as soon as I came over here, but it’s also about my hard work as soon as I came over to try to keep improving as a player.

“It has been an awesome journey over the past couple of years and I am super-excited for the tournament to kick off. As a kid I wanted to be one of the best players in my position in the world and this is the tournament you get to prove that.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Cambridge was victorious as the trainer sent his first runner to Salisbury for 18 years.

The Dubawi colt was contesting the one-mile Byerley Stud Novice Stakes under Ryan Moore and started as the 11-10 favourite at the Wiltshire track.

The run was the bay’s second, his debut being a third-placed effort in a Roscommon maiden last month.

This time he looked like the winner from two furlongs from home, before facing a late challenge from Richard Hannon’s Houstonn, who got at least level in the final strides but was passed again as a short head split them on the line.

Moore said of the success: “I’m happy with him, travelling over would have done him the world of good.

“Hopefully he’ll build on this and be a good horse next year.”

Cambridge was watched by Coolmore’s UK representative Kevin Buckley, who last witnessed a Ballydoyle horse run at Salisbury when Dylan Thomas was beaten in the 2005 Autumn Stakes.

He said: “I’m pleased with that and it’s nice to be here, Salisbury have looked after us really well. We thought he’d improve from his run in Roscommon, the stewards’ report said he dwelt at the start, but Seamie (Heffernan) then subsequently said the stall was slow to open.

“He ran very green, he was much more professional there, he put his head down and got it done. I know the winning margin wasn’t much, but it’s about winning and that’s what he did there.

“(It’s been) 18 years. It was the Autumn Stakes, Dylan Thomas was second with Johnny Murtagh on board and Jamie Spencer was third on Arabian Prince.

“He’s a nicely-bred horse, by a partner, Peter Brant, by Dubawi out of a Galileo mare. Half-brother to Maqsad, who won a Pretty Polly at Newmarket, beating Shambolic who is the dam of Ylang Ylang who is running for us in the Moyglare.

“We’ll get him home now and see what we think, he’s been over the extended seven at Roscommon, we knew he’d get that, his dam won over 12 furlongs and was Listed-placed twice in France.

“He’s got the Royal Lodge entry and that wouldn’t be beyond the realms (of possibility).”

Born and raised in Castleford and experiencing the high of lifting the League Leaders’ Shield as recently as 2017, Tigers full-back Greg Eden appreciates more than most the importance of his club preserving their Betfred Super League status.

But less than 10 miles across west Yorkshire’s rhubarb triangle, passions are running equally high as Wakefield-born Mark Applegarth plots a potential great escape for Trinity, seemingly doomed after losing their first 14 games of the campaign, at the expense of their near neighbours.

The only certainties heading into the final three weeks of the regular season are that one of Castleford and Wakefield will be playing their rugby in the second-tier Championship next season – and that the pain of demotion will reverberate around their respective towns.

“It’s all on these last three games,” admitted Eden, whose hat-trick of tries in Castleford’s 28-12 win at Belle Vue last month helped put his side in pole position, two points clear heading into Friday’s pair of home games, which see Wakefield face title-chasing Catalans Dragons while Cas take on Hull FC.

“I was a Cas fan growing up and I know what it means,” added Eden. “Going into games you do carry that with you. I know what it means inside and out – Cas is a small town and everybody is talking about it, and that spurs me on personally to try to work that little bit harder.”

The Tigers’ mini-revival under new head coach Danny Ward came to crashing end in last weekend’s 66-12 defeat at Warrington, which all but erased their slender points difference advantage as well as yielding an untimely one-match ban for half-back Jacob Miller for Friday’s clash.

“It was a really tough one to take last week but we haven’t had time to mope about,” said Ward. “As you’d expect the mood in the dressing room was terrible, probably one of the worst I’ve been in.

“The lads spoke well and said the right things. But they’ve probably been in intense situations many times this year and said the right things, and it’s about backing that up and walking that walk now. We can’t be talking in the sheds after games any more.”

Trinity’s loss to Cas stalled their dramatic revival and last week’s home defeat to St Helens means Applegarth’s men remain favourites for the drop as they face a Catalans side who seemed to be headed for the League Leaders’ Shield before losing their last two games.

For the 38-year-old Applegarth, who played four seasons for his hometown club between 2004 and 2007, there is an obvious desire to steer them to the kind of escape that will eclipse all others.

“Ultimately if things stay the same and we don’t get another win we’re going down,” said Applegarth. “We’ve got to be the most desperate team out there on the field but we’ve got to embrace that challenge.

“We’re under no illusions and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve got three games now where it’s do or die and we’ll be going out there to put the things we learned from the Saints and Salford games into practice. It’s about cutting out those errors and not being the first team to crack.”

England have taken a step towards igniting their attack by picking Alex Mitchell at scrum-half for their crucial World Cup opener against Argentina in Marseille on Saturday.

Mitchell was omitted from the original 33-man squad named by Steve Borthwick only to be given a reprieve when Jack van Poortvliet suffered a tournament-ending ankle injury.

Having impressed on his first Test start against Fiji, the 26-year-old has retained half-back duties with the aim of adding zip to England’s game, while Danny Care provides support from the bench.

Tom Curry makes his first appearance under Borthwick and his maiden outing at any level since Sale lost to Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership final in May after being given the nod at openside.

Curry has been struggling with an ankle injury sustained during training in early August but in an indication of his influence on England, he has been thrust straight into the back row.

One-time Derby fancy Eydon is creeping towards an eagerly-awaited return to the racecourse later this month, with connections dreaming of teeing-up a shot at Ascot’s Qipco Champion Stakes later in the autumn.

The lightly-raced colt’s progress has been curtailed by injury and having advertised his talent with a taking success at Newmarket in the Feilden Stakes, he returned to the Rowley Mile to finish an honourable fourth behind Coroebus when getting a first taste of Classic action in the 2000 Guineas.

He was on course for a second bite of the Classic cherry in the Derby when a setback ruled him out of the race, and his 2000 Guineas appearance remains Eydon’s last sighting on a racecourse.

Switched to Andrew Balding from Roger Varian over the winter, it was anticipated he would return to the track in the early stages of the 2023 season, but a further issue in the spring ruled him out of the key summer months.

An outing at Listed level in either the Chasemore Farm Fortune Stakes at Sandown (September 20) or Ayr’s Virgin Bet Doonside Cup Stakes (September 23) is on the radar, before a possible big-race tilt on British Champions Day (October 21), providing Eydon shows he retains all of his old ability.

“Oisin Murphy was on him at Andrew’s and seemed happy and we’re going to either the Doonside Cup or the Fortune Stakes,” said Ted Voute, owner Prince Faisal’s racing adviser.

“He’s probably going to be a bit ring-rusty, but the aim is to see if we can get him to the Champion Stakes.

“It’s a big ask and he’s had lots of little niggly things along the way, but from what Andrew has seen, he has seen sparks of good things on the gallops and touch wood he’s still in one piece and that will be the plan.

“We’ll see how we go and we thought it was a good idea to have a target, because if he came out and was as good as he was in the Feilden Stakes then we would have a bash. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

Captain Johnny Sexton insists there will be “no excuses” if he fails to perform in Ireland’s World Cup opener against Romania as he prepares to make his first competitive appearance in almost six months.

Fly-half Sexton missed his country’s three warm-up matches through suspension, having not played since injuring a groin in helping clinch the Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam against England on March 18.

The 38-year-old will make his long-awaited comeback as a starter on Saturday afternoon in Bordeaux and has been targeting the fixture since being hit with his ban in mid-July.

“I’m delighted to be back,” said Sexton.

“Playing for Ireland is always special, it’s extra special when it comes to the World Cup, so I’m very, very happy to be back in the team and really looking forward to it.

“Hopefully I can go out and play well and have a good performance. I expect that of myself. There are no excuses in that regard.

“Once I got over the injury obviously came the three games off and once I knew that was there I’ve just been focused on this game for the last couple of months. Looking forward to it now and finally getting back out on the pitch.”

Sexton will partner Leinster team-mate Jamison Gibson-Park in a strong XV packed with first-choice stars.

Rookie lock Joe McCarthy, who will make only his second Test start, is a notable exception, while Rob Herring has been given the nod at hooker ahead of Ronan Kelleher in the absence of the injured Dan Sheehan.

Sexton, who is at the fourth World Cup of his distinguished career ahead of retirement, admits there is a mix of nerves and excitement in the Ireland camp.

“I’m sure the Irish will travel like they always do and it’s a very different atmosphere to what you normally get at rugby matches,” he said.

“It’s very much like a soccer World Cup atmosphere, the ones I’ve been involved in to date, and we’re looking forward to that. But also with that comes a bit of nerves.

“We’ve built to this moment for the last four years so now it’s finally here the nerves come in, but it’s about embracing them and going out and trying to play our best.”

Ireland begin the tournament at the top of the world rankings amid a record 13-match winning run.

Wing Mack Hansen has been given the weekend off, while reigning world player of the year Josh van der Flier is the other significant absentee from the starting line-up, having been named among the replacements.

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Head coach Andy Farrell says it is “full steam ahead” as his Six Nations champions seek to begin with a bang.

“We’ve got a squad of 33 that we totally believe in and whatever side we put out is going to be a good side,” he said.

“No matter what side we pick, it’s going to be one that’s threatening and a determined one at that.

“Our mindset at this stage is full steam ahead. We expect a fantastic performance at the weekend to kick us off in the right manner.”

Van der Flier’s demotion to the bench results in Peter O’Mahony shuffling across to openside flanker and Tadhg Beirne moving into the back row at blindside to accommodate McCarthy in the second row.

The 22-year-old McCarthy, one of 10 World Cup debutants in Ireland’s matchday squad, only made his international debut last autumn and has just 129 minutes of Test experience across three caps.

“He deserves it with the form that he’s shown, not just in the games that he’s played, but also in his preparation over the last 10, 11 weeks,” said Farrell.

“He’s really progressed his game and he gets an opportunity to start in the first game of the World Cup.”

Taulupe Faletau will make his first Wales appearance since last season’s Six Nations after recovering from injury to feature against opening World Cup opponents Fiji.

The 100 times-capped number eight missed Wales’ entire World Cup warm-up schedule because of a calf muscle problem, but he goes straight into the starting line-up for Sunday’s Pool C clash in Bordeaux.

Skipper Jac Morgan and Aaron Wainwright join Faletau in the back-row, but Morgan’s co-captain Dewi Lake does not feature in the matchday 23.

Lake suffered a knee injury during Wales’ encounter against England at Twickenham last month.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland said: “The medical team has done a fantastic job getting Dewi back to full fitness.

“He has not had as much training under his belt as the other hookers since he picked up that knock to his knee, so Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee are selected for us for this game.”

All options are open for David Menuisier’s Devil’s Point following his promising run in the Virgin Bet Solario Stakes on Saturday.

The New Bay colt was fifth when only beaten a length and a half on debut at Sandown in July, a competitive race that was won by Sir Michael Stoute’s Starlore.

He then headed to Ffos Las and was a taking winner, coming home four and half lengths to the good with a subsequent scorer behind him in Ralph Beckett’s Going The Distance.

Those efforts prompted a step up to Group Three level on his return to Sandown, where he encountered Starlore for a second time alongside Charlie Appleby’s Aablan.

Devil’s Point, a 4-1 shot, rocked backwards as the stalls opened and was left with ground to cover at the rear of the field, but once finding room in the final furlong he began to pick off his rivals and was a fast-finishing third after a less than ideal passage through the race.

Menuisier was pleased with the run and believes the chestnut will take a step forward from it, meaning none of his autumn entries in either France or England are ruled out – with the Champagne Stakes, the Royal Lodge, the Dewhurst and the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere all possibles.

The trainer said of Sandown: “It was a promising run.

“There wasn’t much pace in the race, unfortunately he couldn’t really make his own luck.

“He was stuck on the rail there so he had to suffer the slow pace from the others.

“He ran a stormer, I wouldn’t swap him for anything else in the race. He will definitely come on for the race and the experience.”

Of the next step for Devil’s Point he added: “I don’t know at the moment, he only ran a few days ago and all of the options are open, really, and there will be some options in France also.

“He will also improve for a step up in trip too, he should stay a mile any day of the week. He’s an exciting prospect for the future.”

Former champion Rory McIlroy admitted two late birdies helped “gloss over” an average first round of the Horizon Irish Open.

McIlroy, who won the title the last time it was staged at The K Club in 2016, carded an opening 69 in glorious conditions to lie three shots off the early clubhouse lead shared by Jordan Smith, Thomas Bjorn and Ross Fisher.

The world number two bogeyed his first hole of the day and drove into the water on the seventh to lie just one under par with two holes remaining, but holed from 18 feet for birdie on the eighth and four feet on the ninth.

“I think the two birdies in the last two holes sort of glossed over what was a pretty average day,” McIlroy said. “Didn’t really feel great with anything.

“It’s hard to say I’m rusty when I’ve only had a week off but I just haven’t had a chance to practice much and I just hit a few loose shots out there.

“Managed my game well and scraped it around in three under which is nice and sort of gets me in the tournament.”

McIlroy almost pulled out of the Tour Championship with a back injury and is not yet back to full fitness, but insisted that was not an issue on the course.

“It’s more that I have not been able to hit a ton of balls,” the 34-year-old added.

“I’m hitting good shots but it’s all about knowing your patterns and where you’re missing it and where to aim and where not to aim and just being a little unsure over a couple of shots.”

Ryder Cup vice-captain Bjorn admitted he was as surprised as anyone to find himself at the top of the leaderboard after a lengthy injury lay-off.

The 52-year-old has not played competitively since June due to collarbone and lower back problems, but carded seven birdies and a solitary bogey on the ninth, his final hole.

“I said to my caddie this morning when we walked to the first tee, let’s try to see if we can break 90,” Bjorn said. “It was that kind of day.

“I came here with no expectations and it just shows how silly this game can be. You can work hard for weeks and go out and shoot bad scores.

“Expectations sometimes get in the way of professional golf, as I’ve shown, and then you just go out and enjoy yourself, you’re just happy to be on the golf course after so long.”

Defending champion Adrian Meronk, who admitted on Wednesday he was shocked and angry to be overlooked for a Ryder Cup wild card, matched the 69 of playing partner McIlroy, with former Open champion Shane Lowry going one better with a 68.

France head coach Fabien Galthie has described Friday’s opening match against New Zealand in Paris as “a wonderful celebration”.

Galthie, who has transformed Les Bleus into genuine contenders since taking on the role in 2020, said he could not have picked a better opponent than the All Blacks for the hosts in their first match.

The former France scrum-half said: “What could be better than New Zealand?

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, this is a team that hasn’t lost a match in the qualifying (pool) phase since the World Cup began. Ever. 31 wins.

“This is a team that has three World Cup titles to its name, a team that has just won the last competition it took part in, the Four Nations (Rugby Championship).

“We’re so happy to be playing them that Friday’s match is a celebration, a joy, a great joy for us. It’s wonderful.”

Under Galthie, France have been Six Nations’ runners-up on three occasions and in 2022 won the Grand Slam for the first time in 12 years.

They have lost only once on home soil with Galthie at the helm – to Scotland in 2021 – and are second favourites behind New Zealand to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time.

France were beaten finalists in 1987, 1999 and 2011, two of those against New Zealand who are bidding for a record fourth triumph.

The All Blacks, winners in 1987, 2011 and 2015, have failed to win the southern hemisphere’s Rugby Championship just twice in the last 12 years.

But their 11-match unbeaten run came to a juddering halt when slipping to the heaviest defeat in their history at Twickenham last month, losing 35-7 to defending world champions South Africa.

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster, who insisted camp morale remained high, said: “We have had a good preparation and a great Rugby Championship.

“If you look at the performances against Australia and South Africa, suddenly we are World Cup favourites. Then we don’t do very well at Twickenham and we are the worst All Blacks side ever.

“This French team have been playing some great rugby over the last two years, everyone can see them building.

“We have also seen them put under pressure and have to deal with expectation and the crowd.

“Part of World Cups is the mental side, about having the confidence and courage to play the game you need to play at the right time. It is only when it all starts we will see where people are at.”