Marcoussis - France hooker William Servat says New Zealand paid the price for underestimating his team the last time the sides met and will be punished if they make the same mistake again in Saturday's Test match.

Both teams are in fine form. New Zealand beat England 19-6 at Twickenham on Saturday, and the French crushed Samoa 43-5 after a convincing 20-13 win against South Africa the previous week.

Servat was part of the France team that stunned New Zealand 27-22 in June and said that the All Blacks took his team lightly before the game - at their peril.

"When we were in New Zealand they put their Walkman headphones on and were smiling a bit. I'm not sure they were smiling after playing against us," Servat said Monday. "With regards to that, it will really set the tempo for the match (on Saturday)."

New Zealand narrowly won June's second Test in Wellington 14-10. Servat is sure the All Blacks will have taken note of France's victory over South Africa and will show no complacency at Marseille's Stade Velodrome.

"I don't know if it will make them stop and think, but it will prepare them, that's for sure," Servat said. "We played well against the South Africans, so I think the New Zealanders will respect us by preparing as well as possible."

Because France stood up to the full force of the Springboks' scrum in Toulouse, Servat thinks there is little left to fear - even from New Zealand.

"It was a great moment of joy, because people thought we would get smashed," Servat said at France's Marcoussis training camp. "When we played South Africa, (Bakkies) Botha tried to destroy us, and we wanted to prove to him that we could stand up to it. I think the All Blacks have enough pride not to let themselves be pushed around on Saturday."

Servat thinks South Africa also may have underestimated the French prior to their loss in Toulouse earlier this month.

"We arrived in New Zealand 15 days before the match, the South Africans arrived two days before the match and ate at the Jigo (restaurant) in Toulouse on Wednesday night," Servat said. "They came out of the Tri-Series having won everything, and while it wasn't a formality to beat France, they prepared for the match a little differently. There was a bit of rain on Wednesday night and they didn't train ... it fed our hunger in the dressing rooms."