International/France v New Zealand: Yesterday, tourists took guided tours around the wonderful Stade de France and posed for photographs in the November sunshine. It ought to be an auspicious weekend for French rugby, with the federation celebrating 100 years of international competition with a full house for a mouth-watering Test against the marauding All Blacks under lights tonight. But after the shocking implosion in Lyon came six days and nights of anguished introspection.

The prospect of the All Blacks running amok in the citadel of French rugby has stirred a mood of rebellion around the city. French coach Bernard Laporte took the unprecedented step of cancelling the scheduled training sessions during the week, preferring to let his players stew over that 47-3 rout in Lyon, the heaviest defeat inflicted on a French team on home soil.

"They crucified us," was the humbled admission from manager Jo Maso and since then the French have gone to ground, offering some signal of intent by selecting a radically altered team, with seven replacements and leaving it to the visitors to interpret it as they would.

"They had to make some changes. It shows they are being proactive. They look as if they are stiffening up the attack," reasoned All Blacks assistant coach Wayne Smith yesterday. "We expect them to take us on up front and be aggressive."

It has become something of a winter tradition for New Zealand teams to stomp around the old theatres of European rugby dazzling the locals with their brand of fundamental, recognisable and yet unstoppable magic. But this year's deconstruction of England followed by the silencing lesson given to France has led to the suspicion that this current All Blacks generation are playing on a different planet.

Coach Graham Henry's starting 15 is the most experienced in the 415 games that comprise New Zealand Test history, with a combined 532 caps between them. "It some ways it was a toss of the coin for a few positions. It's amazing we have that luxury," said Henry.

The inclusion of the calm if somewhat conservative Leon McDonald at fullback has facilitated the switch of Mils Muliaina to inside centre to give even more thrust to the All Blacks three-quarter line alongside Ma'a Nonu. If the visitors have a perceived weakness, it is that they have not been able to replace the physical presence and silken running of Tana Umaga, their great number 13 who has retired, and there is a belief Nonu might be susceptible to pressure.

But the All Blacks machine smothered France so thoroughly last weekend that isolating opponents was the last thing on French minds. The most shocking figure from the humiliation in Lyon was not the final score but the fact that it took the French, the fabled free-running purists, until the 70th minute to get within touching distance of the try line.

The sight of New Zealand prop Carl Hayman dashing a full 80 metres to touch down was a salient reminder of the abundant athleticism on the team and in Daniel Carter, captain Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins, the brilliant Chris Jack and cousins Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu on the wings, New Zealand have peerless class throughout the field.

Laporte's reign has been nothing if not turbulent and this is one of those gallows evenings the French seem physically made for. Backs to the wall and pride badly wounded, evocations of the famous 1999 World Cup semi-final between the countries and even the shimmering Bastille Day of 1979, when the French turned two bad defeats into a first victory in New Zealand have been called up to suggest that, as the advert says, impossible is nothing.

But the injury to Frederic Michalak continues to deprive the French of their most imaginative component and Damien Traille looked so ordinary in comparison to the glittering Carter a week ago it is hard to imagine the French three-quarters line can suddenly tap into the dreamy running game that has thrilled Parisians down the years.

Incoming fullback Pepito Elhorga was the last Frenchman to score a try against the Blacks - in the World Cup third place play-off three years ago.

More practically, the promotion of lock Lionel Nallet, loosehead Oliver Millour and the seasoned Raphael Ibanez indicates that at least the French are determined not to allow the All Blacks to pulverise them in the scrum again. Attention to the grunt and grind of that set-piece did not always appeal to New Zealand. But it has become central to the All Blacks philosophy under Henry and, under the tuition of Mike Cron, the New Zealand eight have become the most ruthless practitioners.

There are, of course, 10 months to go until the real business takes place in the gleaming Paris theatre but tonight's prelude gives the remorseless All Blacks another handsome stage on which to perfect an act that continues to hold the audience spellbound. And it will take one of those unforeseen bursts of French showmanship and freakish genius for them to finish as anything other than a shadow cast.