New Zealand's shock defeat by France at the 2007 World Cup will have no bearing when the sides meet again in this year's quarterfinals, All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said on Monday.
The French pulled off a dramatic 20-18 victory over New Zealand in Cardiff eight years ago having also knocked the All Blacks out of the 1999 World Cup.
"I have been kind of waiting for that question," Foster said.
"For us it is about the here and the now and like I said, we have been planning to be at the Millennium Stadium for the last six months. And we will be there at the weekend."
New Zealand, who eased through the group stage with four victories but never clicked into top gear, enjoyed watching Ireland's 24-9 win over France.
"Some players watched it and some didn't," Foster said.
"From our side of the coin, it was a great game, a very intense game. We are just excited that we know what the future is. We have been waiting a long time for this moment and quite frankly, we can't wait."
France were overpowered by the Irish pack and never threatened to produce the flowing rugby they are capable of.
"They are very physical and they defended very strongly," Foster said.
"They made a good Ireland team work very hard to break them down and they certainly deserve to be there too.
"We expect them to be as hungry and ready as we are. That's what we are excited about."
The All Blacks beat France 8-7 in the 2011 World Cup final in Auckland to win the title for the first time in 24 years.
"There is a lot of respect between the two nations for each other," Foster said.
"They are a proud nation who have done extremely well at World Cups. We are under no illusions how tough it will be and we saw against Ireland that they are prepared to put their bodies on the line."
New Zealand centre Sonny Bill Williams did not even watch the 2007 quarterfinal against France.
"I was playing rugby league then," he said. "I just remember a week after when I flew back into New Zealand, it was a pretty sad time. But the past is the past and the future is the future.
"No matter what anyone says, it is all about Sunday and it's going to be an awesome, entertaining game."
Williams played under France coach Philippe Saint-Andre when he was at Toulon.
"He was an awesome coach and he really brought out the best in me," Williams said.
"He helped me kick-start my ambitions to go back to New Zealand and have a crack at the All Blacks jersey."
