Tonight's Paris summit between the Six Nations champions and the Tri-Nations winners might, logically, determine whether France or New Zealand are the best side in the world. But the world of rugby union is rarely that simple.

And in this week of controversy over All Black decoy runners at Twickenham last weekend and the fact that John Mitchell's All Blacks bear no resemblance to the team that won the southern-hemisphere title three months ago, things are as blurred as the vision of a wing who has just run into Jonah Lomu.

What is as clear as crystal, though, after England were given the fright of their lives last Saturday, is that no All Blacks side can be considered second rate. Even a side as vibrant as Bernard Laporte's France, the strutting cockerels of the northern hemisphere, will find it difficult to overcome them at Stade de France.

And what makes this clash so compelling is the recent history of games between Les Bleus and the Blacks. During the past two decades this fixture has given us everything from the most brutal international of modern times (the infamous Battle of Nantes in 1986) to the greatest game in any World Cup in 1999.

In between were a couple of matches on the All Blacks autumn tour of 1995 which bear comparison with tonight's match. Seven years ago the All Blacks were heavily beaten by a new-look French team containing for the first time a couple of local boys in Thomas Castaignède and Fabien Pelous. A week later the fear of humiliation spurred Laurie Mains's team to a thumping victory in Paris. It was Mains's last game in charge and he said he could now retire happy - and, as anyone familiar with the lugubrious Mr Mains knows, that was really something.

The All Blacks will be motivated once again by the fear of failure. They will certainly not want to return home with only a win over Wales, a formality that not even Wales's Kiwi coach Steve Hansen can prevent next week. Which is why Taine Randell, the All Blacks captain, was keen to stress the dark side of French rugby this week, while ignoring that France are as disciplined as the foreign legion nowadays.

Randell is back as caretaker captain in the absence of the injured Reuben Thorne, but he knows that only an improved performance from the side beaten by England can subdue the French. New Zealand have made two significant changes with Christian Cullen bringing his counter-attacking skills back to the full-back position and Andrew Mehrtens replacing Carlos Spencer at fly-half.

A back three of Cullen, the jet-propelled Doug Howlett and that man Lomu will certainly give the French plenty to think about and they could cut loose if Mehrtens is on the boil. Lomu's unfortunate marker is the prodigiously talented and lightning quick Vincent Clerc.

Laporte, who has named the side that beat South Africa in a hot and cold display in Marseille last weekend, knows that France has failed to hit the heights since their grand slam win, having lost in Argentina and Australia. And when these two sides last met, New Zealand handed out a 37-12 beating in Wellington in June last year.

"The All Blacks are a bit like us, they will a play faster, wider and more intelligent game than the Springboks," said Laporte. The Stade could witness another classic tonight.

France: Brusque (Biarritz); Clerc (Toulouse), Castaignède (Saracens), Traille (Pau), Heymans (Toulouse); Gelez (Agen), Galthié (Stade Français, capt); Crenca (Agen), Ibanez (Castres), De Villiers (Stade Français), Brouzet (Montferrand), Pelous (Toulouse), Betsen (Biarritz), Magne (Montferrand), Harinordoquy (Pau). Replacements: Rue (Agen), Marconnet (Stade Français), Privat (Beziers), Chabal (Bourgoin), Yachvili (Biarritz), Merçeron (Montferrand), Garbajosa (Toulouse).

New Zealand: Cullen (Wellington); Howlett (Auckland), Umaga (Wellington), M Robinson (Canterbury), Lomu (Wellington); Mehrtens (Canterbury), Lee (Otago); McDonnell (Otago), Hore (Taranaki), Meeuws (Auckland), Williams (Auckland), Mika (Auckland), Randell (Otago, capt), Holah (Waikato), Broomhall (Canterbury). Replacements: Mealamu (Auckland), Hayman (Otago),K Robinson (Waikato), So'oialo (Wellington), Devine (Auckland), Steinmetz (Wellington), Blair (Canterbury).