Of all of the Six Nations teams, France will be the most dangerous touring side.

Northern champions Wales are reeling from injuries; England are sending an interim coaching team with their mixed confidence squad and Martin Johnson has not worked any miracles yet; Ireland still need picking up from the canvas, and super coach Declan Kidney will be committed still to Munster; Scotland and Frank Hadden are on death row; and the Italians are still the weakest of the Big Six.

Meanwhile, in the South, the Pumas are at their strongest after a World Cup bronze - even a development team will trouble the Scottish. The Spingboks are world champions and a weakened Welsh team won’t beat them on home soil. And, despite a large player exodus, the All Blacks are still the All Blacks and should have no trouble extending their four-year unbeaten home run against an irresolute England.

'If Lievremont can mould his full-on offensive style with the organisation drilled into the previous French team, the hybrid unleashed on Australian soil could be terrifying'


But the Wallabies, despite having new wonder coach Robbie Deans, are realistically the weakest of the Southern teams. The French tour of Australia will be a deadly litmus test for Deans' new outfit.

Australia is not Canterbury. Deans has been in the Southern stronghold for many years, has had complete say over his team and has nurtured stars like Richie McCaw and Dan Carter, but this did not happen overnight.

Outside of Matt Giteau, Stirling Mortlock and maybe Nathan Sharpe and Lote Tuquiri, the Wallabies do not have the abundance of talent that Canterbury seems to unearth constantly. But the biggest danger sign is that, while Deans' record as Canterbury coach is unmatched, he had a poor association with the All Blacks and was partly responsible for the crash against Australia in their ill-fated 2003 semi-final at the World Cup.

However, the Australians - while admittedly weaker in the pack than other top tier outfits - are renowned for being a patient and methodical team. If this mindset is maintained, and the all but unconquerable mistake-free pressure game of the Crusaders is combined, then the Wallabies could be an imposing beast. But pragmatism is not a championship mindset, a lesson that the English national team have learnt the hard way.

Meanwhile, Marc Lievremont has now had a Six Nations tournament to show his hand. He unveiled and instilled an attacking mindset not seen at international level since the 2003 version of the All Blacks - which saw them post seven half-century scores that year. However, running from their own 22 and lack of percentage play proved to be their undoing against well-drilled teams like the Welsh.

Lievremont needs to look at the style of his side along with that of his predecessor, Bernard Laporte, and see where they can complement each other. The Laporte-era France played with more structure and were defensively orientated, but were missing the crucial element which has been so successful for French teams over the years - the flair.

If Lievremont can mould his full-on offensive style with the organisation drilled into the previous French team, the hybrid unleashed on Australian soil could be terrifying.

The two teams have a remarkably close record, with the Wallabies winning 18 games to France's 16. Up until 1990 Les Bleus had a distinct advantage over the Australians but then, as the Green and Gold’s began their ascent as a world force, they had an eight-year winning streak against the French from 1993 to 2001.

It has now been 15 long years since the French defeated the Wallabies at home - but that could all be about to change. I think that if a strong squad tours the South, the French have every chance of breaking that duck.

With the Top 14 and Super 14 still active, neither coach has yet named his squad for the upcoming tour. Deans' commitment still lies with the Canterbury team, on track to win yet another title.

PREDICTION: Series tied, one game apiece.