Maestri seeks improvement in midweek clash

Editor

France XV lock and captain Yoann Maestri hopes his side have improved and are ready to play the All Blacks again in Lyon on Tuesday.

The French have prepared differently for the midweek game and have been concentrating on getting their basics right, he told L'Equipe.fr.

Whether or not they get called up to the Test side this weekend, all the squad players are keen to play their best.

Maestri wasn't disappointed to find himself in the side, claiming no-one's place in the Test team was guaranteed.

"I'm going to use the game to try to force my way back to Test rugby," he said.

"I've been disappointed before, others have disappointed in Test rugby and others will disappoint in the future. I don't necessarily agree with the selectors decisions because it has been more of a collective situation."

Maestri is taking his leadership role positively and realises the massive challenge the All Blacks pose, but he also insisted that his players should try and have some enjoyment in the game.

"I will also tell them it's a chance to play in a stadium like they have in Lyon against a New Zealand team wearing the blue jersey and there are other players who are waiting to have that chance," he said.

Centre Henry Chavancy said: "We are all very happy and honoured to play against New Zealand. We take this as an opportunity to give them a good game. It's a chance to wear this shirt against the best team in the world. We are all very motivated.

"We worked well [at training], revised our systems and repeated what we want to implement tomorrow.

"We will try to show a beautiful image of the France team, with an irreproachable state of mind and give everything to try to win."