"They'll have the weight of the nation on their shoulders. It's their tournament
and you'd imagine they're going to be up for it," Smith says.
"The French team itself is going to be different, it's not going to be like the French team that was out in New Zealand (in June).
The Millennium Stadium should have a huge section of All Blacks fans with travelling New Zealanders and expatriate Kiwis having bought tickets for the quarter-final well in advance.
French fans, however, had predicted they would be watching their team Scotland in Paris - until the host nation lost to Argentina in the tournament's opening match.
The All Blacks are staying at the Vale of Glamorgan hotel resort about 25 minutes' north Cardiff. Smith said the resort - which has an indoor arena "about three-quarters the size of a rugby pitch" had "great facilities".
"If you want a rugby environment, this is it. (The All Blacks) like Cardiff, they love the feel of the rugby here, the tradition and the spirit of the rugby here".
"And we've played well at Millennium Stadium with the roof closed.
"It's been road-tested pretty well and it's a positive place for us and we're ready for it. "I don't know what we won by here last year (45-10 against Wales) but it was a pretty good victory and it was good the year before.
"We just found the stadium a fantastic place to play. If you can't get up in that stadium, you're never going to get up.
