By Willie Jackson

One thing I've learned in my 40 years of watching rugby is that we should never trust the French.

So many times they've beaten us when they had absolutely no right to do so.

Now while I'm hoping that won't be the case this weekend one never knows what will happen when they run on to the field.

Criticism of this weekend's French selection has focused on their coach Marc Lievremont's decision to play his halfback Morgan Parra at first-five, a position he's never played before.

But what the critics are forgetting is that the French are renowned for making such daring selections.

Who will ever forget, for example, the selection of centre Damien Traille at fullback for the first time in the infamous world cup quarter final against us in 2007?

Traille was exceptional and one of the reasons why the All Blacks lost that day.

And who's to say if Parra couldn't do the same kind of damage this weekend?

I don't buy the theory that the French will throw the match to get to the other side of the draw where they'll be pitted against England in the quarter finals; a team they've never beaten in a world cup. If they beat the All Blacks they'll face a much easier task against either Scotland or Argentina.

So throwing this weekend's match against our team makes no sense because they'd end up playing their bogey team.

It's a mistake to ever write off the French.

We did in 2007 and remember what happened.

In 1999, we'd beaten them by 50 points just before the world cup and then the French played the game of their lives against us in the world cup semifinal.

Who would ever have believed that our mighty All Blacks could have been taken apart as they were that day?

Four of the greatest All Blacks Jeff Wilson, Tana Umaga, Christian Cullen and the incomparable Jonah Lomu all played in our backline, yet still we were beaten.

We also mustn't forget that the last time the All Blacks lost at Eden Park was against the French in 1994.

That team was given virtually no chance against us and rightfully so because they had lost to the hopeless Canadians on their way over to New Zealand.

But incredibly they somehow beat us two tests in a row.

The winning try in the final test was scored by their fullback Jean Luc Sadourny and was labelled "the try from the edge of the world".

Let's keep our fingers crossed we don't see anything like that from those cunning Frenchmen this weekend.

AucklandNow.co.nz, Friday 23rd September 2011