Forget Ireland, the All Blacks face the real alpha of Europe next

For Scott Robertson's All Blacks, France might well be the toughest assignment of the year.

There is mystery surrounding this French team after they had a lacklustre Six Nations without Dupont, playing with an apparent World Cup hangover.

With Dupont back after his Olympic gold medal they were particularly dominant against Japan. Dupont looked like he was having a training run in cruise control. They are already flying under the radar after dishing up tripe in the Six Nations.

After the high of knocking off the world number one Ireland side the risk is that the All Blacks fail to recognise the real alpha in Europe.

Hint, it's not the post-Sexton Ireland team. It's France with Dupont, the crouching tiger who will physically maul apart the All Blacks if they aren't ready.

The world class No 9 has a rare, favourable record over the All Blacks in his career with two wins from three Test matches, all of which have been played at Stade de France.

The first of which was perhaps his best outing against New Zealand as a raw 21-year-old. Despite losing the game, Dupont produced a man-of-the-match type performance that sent a warning to the world.

The 2017 All Blacks were still dominant and had very few rivals. The British & Irish Lions challenged them, but few nations on their own could. England were the only worthy adversary at the time.

In his first start for France the No 9 ripped New Zealand for three or four line breaks and beat defenders at will. They were outgunned 31-5 in the first half but finished down 38-18. What Dupont inflicted on the All Blacks had not been seen by one individual player for decades.

The next time the two nations would meet in 2021, Dupont had become the world's best player. His awe-inducing play had become frequent with displays of genius in every Test.

This hyper-athletic scrumhalf ran with the agility of a wing and possessed the strength of a back rower. His low centre of gravity made him like a ball of granite, yet his offloading, and ball-playing added another dimension. His vision and instincts were just on a different level.

France's low risk game plan with kicking for territory all day was countered by these spurts of brilliance from Dupont and Ntamack letting loose and conjuring up magic. Incredulously, titles still alluded Dupont with France. Wales had captured the 2021 Six Nations with Les Bleus finishing runners up.

The 2021 November test against the All Blacks marked a breakthrough for France. The All Blacks had been defeated by Ireland the week before, and came to Paris with the nation's expectations of bouncing back.

Dupont and Ntamack opened up Foster's feeble team within minutes for a big line break. A maul try was followed by Ntamack slicing past Mo'unga for a 14-6 lead. Another maul try had France up 24-6 at the break.

An All Black fightback came, but brilliance from Ntamack to escape from his own in-goal turned the tables for France. A yellow card to Ardie Savea restored a five-point lead, before David Havili threw an intercept pass to Damian Penaud.

That November win was partly a catalyst for France's 2022 Grand Slam and undefeated calendar year, while the All Blacks would go through the most turbulent time since 1998.

They wouldn't meet again until the 2023 Rugby World Cup opener, a night built for France and Dupont who by this stage had become the face of rugby.

Stade de France that night felt like the Colosseum, full of expectation that the All Blacks would be slaughtered for the baying public. It was a celebratory mood, with the full confidence that this generational French team would take down the mighty All Blacks. And they did.

Dupont wasn't required to produce much. A dominant scrum offered up points through Thomas Ramos' boot, while All Blacks inaccuracies in the air cost more penalties. A late try to Melvyn Jaminet made the scoreline look worse than it was at 27-13.

Ultimately the All Blacks would get closer to the World Cup title than France, who had to come to terms with their shock quarter-final exit.

The 2024 Six Nations proved that France with Dupont are a different beast. He was the MVP of the Six Nations without being there, as France were directionless and insipid without him.

He might not travel much with the national team, but Stade de France is his yard. The All Blacks are stepping in to a dog fight with a pit bull they need to keep on a very, very short leash.