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For a player with one cap Esteban Abadie is one of the experienced players in the French backrow for their clash against New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.
France coach Fabien Galthie has also given Abadie the extra baggage of moving from flanker to the less familiar number 8 role.
Alongside him in the backrow are Jacobus Van Tonder, who made his international debut in the first test in Dunedin, and Pierre Bochaton who is making his test debut.
It means the 27-year-old Abadie – who won his first cap against Italy in the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations - will come up against a New Zealand backrow that features 2023 World Rugby Men’s Player of the Year and current captain Ardie Savea, a player who has won 95 caps.
Savea will form a trio with flanker Tupou Vaa’i who is on 39, and number 8 Christian Lio-Willie, who made his test debut last time out.
“BEST POSSIBLE MATCH”
“It's a dream to play against players like that,” Abadie said. “It pushes you to give the best of yourself. Against them, you want to excel, that's what happened last week.
“Facing the All Blacks, especially at their home ground, is a childhood dream, but, if we're not at 200% and if we don't play the best possible match, there's no way we can expect to win.
“Clearly, our goal is to win and if we win, it's because we played a perfect match. Maybe, even with a perfect match, we won't win... If we're half-hearted, it won't happen anyway.”
Ahead of their tour, France coach Galthie came under fire from elements of the New Zealand media for selecting an experimental squad.
However, he was limited by an agreement between the French Rugby Federation and La Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), who represent the clubs, to only chose five players from the Top 14 finalists, Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles.
TEST DEBUTANTS
One of those Toulouse players – Joshua Brennan – will feature in the second row where he and Matthias Halagahu will make their international bows.
The All Blacks’ experience dwarfs that of Les Bleus. They have 832 caps in their 23, compared to France’s 174. In the run on teams, it is 708 to 50 with four debutants.
“It's a bit of a leap into the unknown because most of the players aren't used to the international level and don't really know what to expect,” Abadie said.
“We're lucky to be playing in a league that's perhaps the best in the world. We compete at a very high level every weekend.”
There has been less criticism this week after France pushed the hosts hard throughout their 31-27 loss and were still threatening a surprise victory in the last play.
“REVENGE SPIRIT”
In total Galthie has made 10 changes to his starting side.
Hooker Gaetan Barlot will captain the team in Gael Fickou’s absence, Nolann Le Garrec and Joris Segonds remain as halfbacks, while Theo Attissogbe moves from fullback to wing to accommodate Leo Barre.
“We're really expecting a tough match,” Abadie said. “Things went pretty well for us last week. We had a very good, very close match.
“I don't think there will be that element of surprise anymore. New Zealand will really have that revenge spirit, so we're expecting a tough challenge.
“This one will be a cut above, but the guys responded last week, so it'll be up to us to do the same on Saturday.
“Let's just say I'm feeling a bit of stress, but above all, excitement, and pride. It's always a source of pride to wear this jersey. I worked hard to get back here, so it's up to me to deliver on Saturday.”