RugbyU: 'Dark destroyer' Dusautoir targets rugby's Everest
Dusautoir will once again skipper France and be up against All Blacks captain Richie McCaw
NEWPORT (AFP) - Thierry Dusautoir announced his arrival on the international scene in no uncertain fashion when he made an astonishing 38 tackles in France s epic victory over New Zealand in the 2007 World Cup.
To put that number in perspective, it was two more than the total number of tackles made by the All Blacks, who went down 20-18 in an unforgettable quarter-final and at the same Millennium Stadium where they will face each other on Saturday.
Dusautoir -- who has earned the nickname the Dark Destroyer for his exploits on the pitch -- is also one of four survivors of the starting French team that lost 8-7 to New Zealand in the final of the 2011 World Cup, putting in a man-of-the-match performance as captain of the side.
And the Ivory Coast-born forward, who turns 34 in November, is one of six players who played in France s last win against the All Blacks in 2009 in Dunedin.
"It s always very special to play against New Zealand," said Dusautoir, who didn t take up rugby until he was 16 as he preferred judo.
"France and the All Blacks have a special history together and we ll write a new chapter tomorrow, hopefully a good one for the French."
Dusautoir will once again skipper France and be up against All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, himself 34 and winner of a record 145 caps.
"I m not going to introduce Richie! He s a good player, everyone knows it, he s the best player of his generation," said Dusautoir.
"What he s done for the All Blacks is incredible, it s always a pleasure to play against him.
"This may be my last opportunity to play a match against him, so I will enjoy it!"
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has heaped praise on Dusautoir this week, dubbing the Toulouse flanker "one of the great players of all time".
"If there wasn t a certain Richie McCaw running around during that same period Dusautoir would probably be seen as the guy whose played the best rugby in that (seven) position over a long period of time," Hansen said.
The quarter-final victory in 2007 was "special because we won against the All Blacks and there are not so many teams that have beaten them and it was important in the French team history", Dusautoir added.
"What I want is to think about our future. It was a great moment, eight years ago and four years ago, maybe I ll have a third memory to think about in a few years after tomorrow s match.
"We certainly have some regrets over our performance against Ireland (in last weekend 24-9 defeat) but today that s no longer important.
"What s important is what is coming, the Everest we have to surmount."
