Latimer delighted with another shot at French

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Tanerau Latimer is overjoyed to get a bonus third crack at the French this season and definitely has revenge on his mind.

The Bay of Plenty and Chiefs openside flanker was a surprise inclusion on the All Blacks bench to face the French on Saturday night at Stade Velodrome in a clash being billed as the "Battle of the Hemispheres".

It pits the two form sides together in a fitting finale to the north's autumn international rugby jamboree.

Latimer was selected as the loose forward cover on the bench, with All Blacks coach Graham Henry clearly keen to have the option of bringing on a mobile loosies late in the match. The 23-year-old has mixed emotions about the French after making his first test appearance against them (off the bench, in Dunedin) and then making his first start a week later in the capital as the All Blacks exacted revenge for their Carisbrook upset.

But Latimer also had the disappointment of seeing the Dave Gallaher Trophy snatched by the French on a points countback.

"It was a big step up from Super 14 going into test matches, especially against France," recalls Latimer of his first couple of outings in the international arena. "I'm going to have to bring my A game, because I know it's going to be a physical match." Latimer reckons the French play a similar style to the All Blacks, which possibly explains why they've been so successful against them of late.

"You give them the ball and give them space and they've got some cunning backs that can carve a bit of magic," he said.

He admits there's an element of "revenge" about the motivation for Saturday night, but in particular there's that prized trophy to claim back.

"That certainly wasn't the way the All Blacks wanted to play, and to lose that trophy was a hell of a big deal to us," he said of June's 1-1 series split.

And he agreed with the pretty much universal billing of this as a test that will define the All Black year.

"We set some goals before we came away to establish ourselves as No 1 in the world and to win all our tests. We've got one more to go, and it would be a shame to fall just a bit short." All Blacks coach Graham Henry said today Latimer deserved his place on the bench for this weekend.

"Every time he's played for the All Blacks he's played very well. I thought he had an outstanding game against Italy and it's just a pat on the back for what he's done.

"Richie has the ability to play at 6 or 8, and Tanerau didn't play last week, so we're just trying to keep them as fresh as possible ... Playing five tests in five weeks is a major challenge. It's probably been done before, but I can't remember when.

"So it's important to try and get some freshness into the guys."

- © Fairfax NZ News