All Blacks at full-strength for play-off

Underfire New Zealand coach John Mitchell has named his strongest possible line-up for Thursday's Rugby World Cup third/fourth-place play-off against France at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney, with veteran scrum-half Justin Marshall and reserve prop Kees Meeuws both unavailable for selection.

Marshall was ruled out of the clash with a rib injury picked up during the All Blacks' loss to Australia on Saturday, while Meeuws pulled up with a calf injury after coming on as a second-half substitute.

Mitchell has made one change only to the starting line-up that went down to the Wallabies, with Australian-born Steve Devine replacing Marshall in the No.9 jersey. Byron Kelleher, who replaced Marshall on Saturday, remains on the bench.

On the bench, Meeuws has been replaced by Otago loosehead prop Carl Hoeft.

The All Black coach has come underfire for his selection process since the loss, but Mitchell has refused to falter under public sentiment and by naming such a strong outfit he has signalled his intent to win this match, and backed the same players that let him down so badly against the Wallabies.

Mitchell has retained the centre pairing of Aaron Mauger and Leon MacDonald, despite veteran centre Tana Umaga's return to fitness. Umaga, who has not played since injuring his knee in New Zealand's opening match against Italy last month, was not selected for Saturday's semi-final after Mitchell decided the 30-year old was "not sharp enough". He has once again been ignored for selection.

"This is a really important match for us as a group and it was important to stick with a proven combination and there is [a factor of] some accountability with the team," said Mitchell. "There is something to salvage and it is important that we finish the season on a high."

The match between the two sides is a repeat of the 1999 tournament semi-final in which France won the game, and effectively cost former All Black coach John Hart his job. Current rumours suggest that Mitchell may be in for the same fate regardless of Thursday's result.

New Zealand: 15 Malili Muliaina, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Leon MacDonald, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Carlos Spencer (vice-captain), 9 Steve Devine, 8 Jerry Collins, 7 Richard McCaw, 6 Reuben Thorne (captain), 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Dave Hewett.
Replacements: 16 Mark Hammett, 17 Carl Hoeft, 18 Brad Thorn, 19 Marty Holah, 20 Byron Kelleher, 21 Daniel Carter, 22 Caleb Ralph.

Kick-off: 20.00 local time (09.00 GMT), Live in the UK on ITV2