All Blacks enjoy view from the top

The All Blacks, visiting Europe on a practice run for the World Cup to be staged in France in less than a year, outpowered a brave France side 23-11 on Saturday.

A week earlier, they had thrashed the same opponents 47-3 in Lyon and a week before that, they had destroyed England 41-20 at Twickenham.

"It's pretty obvious that we are the favourites to win the World Cup and it's a great place to be," said New Zealand coach Graham Henry.

The supreme entertainers in rugby, New Zealand have, however, often peaked too soon and have been chasing World Cup victory since winning the inaugural competition in 1987.

"We realise we still need to improve and we are not taking anything for granted but we have just won two tests in France against the second best side in the world and we can only be delighted with that," Henry said.

France manager Jo Maso, whose players fought like lions but were never in contention against opponents distilling a deadly mix of power and skill, acknowledged the All Blacks were in a league of their own.

"The All Blacks are definitely above the rest at the moment but we've got 10 months left (before the World Cup)," he said. "There's plenty of work to do."

Served by brilliant individuals with superior athleticism, New Zealand rely on a watertight defence and seize every opportunity to launch devastating counter-attacks.

A disciplined outfit, they can also march forward relentlessly and bank on the accurate kicking and unique game intelligence of Dan Carter, arguably the most complete flyhalf the world has seen.

Before leaving Europe, New Zealand will face Wales next Saturday in Cardiff.

"Wales have a taste for spectacular rugby and can stretch any opponents," said Henry, a former Wales coach. "They were the best side in Europe a few years ago and we have a lot of respect for them."

Very little suggests, however, that the awe-inspiring men in black will suffer an upset before flying home to get ready for another assault on Europe, with the World Cup trophy at stake.