France great Frederic Michalak warned the Wallabies that France would be at their flamboyant best as they chase a rare Test victory on Australian soil in July. France have not won in Australia since 1990 but Michalak said the tourists would be confident and fired up at the prospect of playing in front of unrestricted crowds during the three-match series. “There’s no crowds right now in France so it’s going to be very exciting for them,” the 77-Test fly-half told reporters in Sydney. Michalak said French rugby was reaping the rewards of developing young talent, pointing to the all-French European Champions Cup final between Toulouse and La Rochelle later this month.
“The French squad are great at the moment, they’re young but in the last few years have done very well in the Six Nations,” he said. “We’ve worked for 10 years on that. You’re going to be surprised how we play, how we move the ball. We have some players who are very, very fast and can make a difference.”
While the French will be at the end of a long season and playing after two weeks in quarantine, Michalak said they could take inspiration from Argentina, who overcame similar hurdles last year. Los Pumas were given no chance when they travelled to Sydney to play New Zealand in the Rugby Championship but achieved an inspirational 25-15 win, their first ever victory over the All Blacks.
France’s first Test against Australia is also in Sydney on July 7, and Michalak was hoping for a similar outcome. “It’s the same sport, we’re at the same hotel (as Argentina), maybe it’s going to be the same result I hope,” he said.

All Blacks to play Fiji, Tonga in July
The All Blacks will play Fiji and Tonga in July after the Test schedule was rejigged because of the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand Rugby announced yesterday.
The three-time world champions were initially due to host two Tests against Italy and one against Fiji in the July international window before the Azzurri pulled out due to concerns about travelling during the pandemic.
Instead, NZR said the All Blacks would stage one Test against Tonga and two against Fiji. “We look forward to welcoming the Flying Fijians to New Zealand for what will be an historic, first-ever, back-to-back All Blacks Test series against them,” NZR chief executive Mark Robinson said in a statement.
Fiji coach Vern Cotter said he wanted to assemble his strongest possible team and was working out the logistics of getting overseas-based players to the Pacific island nation, which is currently battling a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
“We have been looking at the overseas and also local players and trying to get them back in time for quarantine and training so that we can prepare properly for the first game on the July 10,” Cotter said.
The All Blacks will play Tonga at Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium on July 3, with the Maori All Blacks v Samoa as a curtain-raiser. The first All Blacks-Fiji Test is in Dunedin on July 10, with the second in Hamilton a week later. The Hamilton match will have a Tonga v Samoa Rugby World Cup qualifier as a curtain-raiser.

Rugby club World Cup plans ‘progressing nicely’: Euro chief
Plans for a club World Cup, every four years but not before 2024, are “progressing very nicely”, according to Vincent Gaillard, head of the body that organises European Cup rugby. “The project is progressing really very nicely, even if the political environment is never simple,” Gaillard, CEO of European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), said. “It is moving forward in consultation with all interested stakeholders, including the southern hemisphere countries and World Rugby.”
Gaillard added: “It’s advancing, still on the principle that the EPCR represents the interests of the northern hemisphere, based on a four-yearly format and with a date for the first tournament yet to be decided but not before 2024.”
Launched by Bernard Laporte, president of the French rugby federation, during his successful campaign to be named World Rugby vice-president, the club World Cup aims to bring together the eight best teams from the two hemispheres.
Gaillard added that a new deal had been signed between EPCR and federations guaranteeing European Cups through until at least 2030.
“It’s very good news,” Gaillard said, adding that next season’s format for the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup will likely be 24 teams divided into two pools of 12.