This is the fourth time in the past four years that the world’s top ranked team have played at the Millennium Stadium and Smith revealed that the planning for the 2007 Rugby World Cup began three years ago.
“The World Cup began three years ago for us. We have been here and tested the venues and we had a Grand Slam tour to Europe,” said Smith from his side’s Vale of Glamorgan Hotel base. A lot of what we have done has been aimed at this Saturday. Hopefully, we are on target.
“We are pretty comfortable in Cardiff having played here in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The players like it here and love the feel of the rugby tradition and spirit. We have road-tested the Millennium Stadium and we are ready for it. We found it a fantastic place to play; if you can’t get up for a game at this stadium then you can’t ever get up for a game.
“From the time France lost to Argentina it was most likely we would play them in the quarter-final. That’s given us a great opportunity to watch them, be specific in our planning and be ready for them. The French are going to be different. It isn’t going to be like facing the team that came to New Zealand in the summer. They have the weight of the nation on their shoulders. It’s their tournament and they will be up for it. But we have planned for it.
“It feels like coming home because we have been to Cardiff so many times before. We are ready to throw the kitchen sink at them.”
