All Blacks come from behind against France as debutant scores key try

New Zealand had to come from behind to defeat a dogged France 29-19 at FMG Stadium Waikato on Saturday in a result that wraps up a 3-0 series victory over Les Bleus.

Tries from Will Jordan, Anton Lienert-Brown, Du’Plessis Kirifi and Brodie McAlister, coupled by nine points from Damian McKenzie’s boot, saw the All Blacks prevail.

France were excellent for large parts in Hamilton with scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec scoring 16 points that included a crossing while Antoine Hastoy struck a drop-goal.

The All Blacks were looking to pick up a clean sweep in this series, which has been under the spotlight ever since rumours of France’s squad intentions were made clear.

Scott Robertson’s outfit had to deal with some late disruption to their line-up after Luke Jacobson pulled out injured in the warm-up, which meant Ardie Savea shifted to number eight and Kirifi was handed his first start on the openside.  That freed up a place on the replacements bench where Christian Lio-Willie wore jersey 20.

The game started in entertaining fashion and after an early All Blacks foray, it was in fact France who struck first on nine minutes, Le Garrec scrambling over at the back of a maul on the right wing before converting his own score.  That was an early marker thrown down, confirming that this France team in Test III was a genuine threat.

Clearly rattled, the hosts gift wrapped a further three points for Les Bleus after Savea attempted a chip kick in his own 22 that resulted in Le Garrec nudging it to 10-0.

That penalty took the scoring up a notch in its frequency as on 21 minutes, a smart kick into open space from Cortez Ratima saw wing Jordan win the foot race as New Zealand cut the gap to three points before Hastoy knocked over a smart drop-goal for the French soon after to make it 13-7.  Suddenly, every attack had real potential.

The concern for New Zealand was the frequency France were adding to their tally, as two further Le Garrec penalties after a McKenzie effort made it a nine-point cushion.

Crucially, though, the All Blacks struck with the clock in the red at the end of the opening half when Lienert-Brown slid over the whitewash to make it 19-17 at the interval.

France looked to keep the scoreboard ticking shortly after the restart, but this time Hastoy’s drop-goal attempt was dragged wide before New Zealand looked to counter.

However, tenacious French defence was evident again, typified by Gabin Villiere who won his side a ruck penalty that was also off-target from Le Garrec from distance.

Two lifelines for the All Blacks who then sent on front-row replacements including debutant McAlister at hooker, with boss Robertson eyeing a response from his side.

But France’s resolve in defence was something to admire as they continued to frustrate the hosts, Mickaël Guillard this time denying Patrick Tuipulotu a try out wide.

Finally, though New Zealand got their score when a McKenzie grubber caused chaos in-goal and Kirifi was on hand to gather and ground for the try before the hour.

At 22-19, the match was far from over, but the All Blacks had their noses in front for the first time in the contest.  Les Bleus though were still enjoying opportunities.

As time wore on, however, New Zealand were starting to gain dominance and Dalton Papali’i went agonisingly close to crossing as the hosts had a spell of territory.

Finally, they got their reward as debutant McAlister slid over for a game-sealing try that must have felt incredible after the All Blacks’ lineout had been struggling.

McKenzie would send over the conversion attempt to add the gloss as New Zealand had seen off an impressive France side to take this series in a 3-0 whitewash.

The teams

All Blacks:  15 Ruben Love, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Brodie McAlister, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Dalton Papali’i, 20 Christian Lio-Willie 21 Noah Hotham, 22 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 23 Jordie Barrett

France:  15 Léo Barré, 14 Théo Attissogbé, 13 Nicolas Depoortère, 12 Gaël Fickou (c), 11 Gabin Villière, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Joshua Brennan, 6 Alexandre Fischer, 5 Matthias Halagahu, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements:  16 Gaëtan Barlot, 17 Paul Mallez, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Romain Taofifénua, 20 Killian Tixeront, 21 Pierre Bochaton, 22 Thibault Daubagna, 23 Émilien Gailleton

Referee:  Angus Gardner (RA)
Assistant referees:  Damian Schneider (UAR), Takehito Namekawa (JRFU)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (RA)
FPRO:  Damon Murphy (RA)

All Blacks made to work hard for maiden 2025 victory against rookie French outfit

Scott Robertson’s All Blacks are up and running in 2025 after defeating a spirited France outfit 31-27 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin to take a 1-0 series lead.

Much of the build-up to the series opener was dominated by France’s decision to send an inexperienced team to New Zealand, but the Les Bleus rookies rose to the occasion and put up a mighty fight against the All Blacks.

Ultimately, a Beauden Barrett penalty in the final 10 minutes of the match sealed the result for the All Blacks, with the veteran pivot knocking over all five of his kicks at goal.

He converted tries scored by Will Jordan (2), Tupou Vaa’i and Jordie Barrett before Robertson’s men held out a French onslaught to secure the victory.

Mickael Guillard and Cameron Woki crossed for Les Bleus, while Joris Segonds added three points from the tee with Nolann Le Garrec racking up a further nine, but ultimately, it was not enough.

The French were the first on the board as the All Blacks conceded a penalty in the seventh minute, providing Segonds with an easy shot at goal the pivot did not waste the chance to dissect the posts.

Jordie Barrett looked to have scored the opening try of New Zealand this year when the midfielder slid over the line after a marvellous attacking play, but the All Blacks were denied as prop Fletcher Newell was judged to have knocked on the ball in the build-up to the score.

From the ensuing scrum, the French struck as superb full-back Theo Attisogbe skinned Billy Proctor out wide, launching a stunning attack with Beauden Barrett making a great last-ditch tackle that seemingly denied a try.  However, France recycled the ball, and powerhouse forward Guillard thundered over the line to open up a 10-point lead after 17 minutes.

That try seemingly lit the spark for the All Blacks as captain Scott Barrett charged down a kick from Le Garrec, and that turnover of possession resulted in the first try of the year for Jordan, who benefited from a great long ball from fly-half Beauden Barrett, who added the extras.

New Zealand really started to turn the screws in the second quarter of the first half as they dominated the French scrum, earning a penalty for their efforts and subsequently kicked to the line which led to a score for Vaa’i who powered over from close range after several powerful carries from the French pack.

However, Vaa’i conceded a silly penalty at the lineout in the 32nd minute and Le Garrec made no mistake with his kick to make it a one-point game at 14-13.

That did not last long as Jordie Barrett would have the final say of the half as Jordan went from scorer to assister to send the centre over as the hosts led 21-13 at the break.

France came out of the blocks steaming in the second half as Villiere acrobatically dived over the line after an impressive 16 phases from the French.

Villiere produced another moment of brilliance to make a try-saving tackle and turnover, but that did not last long as Jordan scored a second try from the ensuing lineout.

Fabien Galthie started to empty his bench soon afterwards, and it immediately paid dividends as debutant Jaco van Tonder made a stunning linebreak with Woki rounding off the try.

Momentum looked to have swung back into the All Blacks’ favour when Jordan’s offload was judged to have been knocked down by Villiere, who was subsequently yellow-carded.  Robertson’s side went to work from the lineout and after a long passage of attack, Proctor reached out to dot the ball over the line, but he was denied upon review from the TMO, who judged that he spilt the ball over the line.

Again, the TMO would deny the All Blacks as Jordan’s hat-trick score was scratched off after Berry agreed that replacement tighthead Pasilio Tosi obstructed the French defensive line — the third time the All Blacks had been denied.

The All Blacks couldn’t breach the Shaun Edwards’ defence again in the second half as Barrett knocked over a penalty to extend the lead to four points, which sealed the victory.

The teams

All Blacks:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Fletcher Newell, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Samipeni Finau, 20 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Damian McKenzie

France:  15 Theo Attissogbe, 14 Tom Spring, 13 Emilien Gailleton, 12 Gael Fickou (c), 11 Gabin Villière, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Nolann Le Garrec, 8 Mickael Guillard, 7 Killian Tixeront, 6 Alexandre Fischer, 5 Tyler Duguid, 4 Hugo Auradou, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Gaetan Barlot, 1 Giorgi Beria
Replacements:  16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Paul Mallez, 18 Regis Montagne, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Jacobus van Tonder, 22 Baptiste Jauneau, 23 Antoine Hastoy

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Ridley (England), Takehito Namekawa (Japan)
TMO:  Damon Murphy (Australia)

France edge the All Blacks in Paris thriller as Scott Robertson’s side lose unbeaten tour record

France handed Scott Robertson his first defeat in six as they made it three successive victories over the All Blacks following a 30-29 success in Paris.

In another Autumn Nations Series thriller, Les Bleus went into the break 17-10 in arrears following tries by Peter Lakai and Cam Roigard, but they hit back in the second period.

Fabien Galthie’s men moved ahead as Paul Boudehent and Louis Bielle-Biarrey touched down and it was a lead they would not relinquish.

That was despite the accurate kicking of Damian McKenzie, who added four penalties when he came on, but successive Thomas Ramos three-pointers was just enough for France as they edged to a win.

Having won their past five matches, Robertson’s outfit came into this game with confidence and, despite an early Ramos three-pointer, they showed why spirits have been significantly lifted in New Zealand.

The visitors manufactured a superb try as superb hands set Ardie Savea free down the left and, after he had fended off the attentions of a couple of defenders, his off-load sent rookie Lakai across the whitewash.

Lakai had come on for Samipeni Finau, who suffered a head injury, but it did not impact the All Blacks as they had the better of the opening half-hour.

With half-backs Cam Roigard and Beauden Barrett dictating things nicely, and the scrum getting to work on the France front-row, the tourists were beginning to control matters.

Les Bleus were already without first-choice props Cyril Baille and Uini Atonio and when Tevita Tatafu was forced off, Georges-Henri Colombe was exposed in the set-piece.

Tamaiti Williams put the big tighthead under significant duress and it was from that pressure which led to Roigard’s try.  Number eight Gregory Alldritt had to pick up the ball from a retreating scrum and the All Blacks scrum-half was on hand to nick it, speed away and touch down.

There were signs that the hosts were beginning to creak, but they managed to respond as the forwards, guided by the typically excellent Antoine Dupont, made ground through the heart of the opposition defence.

Eventually, New Zealand cracked as Romain Buros crossed the whitewash on debut, Ramos converting, to reduce the arrears.

Although Barrett made it a seven-point buffer at the interval, Les Bleus had shown that they could attack the All Blacks right through the middle and they managed to do the same at the start of the second period.

Galthie’s side set up a maul five metres out and rumbled towards the line, allowing Boudehent to touch down.  Ramos added the extras and all of a sudden the pressure was back on New Zealand, who perhaps should have gone into the break with a greater lead.

Robertson’s men initially handled it well, moving the ball through the phases and almost going over in the left-hand corner, but they then began to force the play.

That was demonstrated by Tupou Vaa’i as the lock’s off-load went to ground and was picked up by Ramos.  The fly-half then kicked through and the chasing Bielle-Biarrey absolutely burned Sevu Reece to score.

Unperturbed, the All Blacks looked to hit back and increased the pressure on the French, forcing their opponents to infringe in kickable positions.

After coming on as a replacement, McKenzie was successful off the tee on three occasions, but Ramos’ own three-pointer just kept the hosts in front going into the final 10 minutes.

It set up a tense conclusion but, unlike against England, New Zealand were unable to get over the line.  The respective kickers did trade efforts off the tee in the latter stages, but France managed to maintain that one-point gap.

The teams

France:  15 Romain Buros, 14 Gabin Villiere, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Aldritt, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Tevita Tatafu, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Mickael Guillard, 21 Charles Ollivon, 22 Nolann le Garrec, 23 Emilen Gailleton

New Zealand:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

France end 14-game losing run against All Blacks in style

New Zealand suffered back-to-back defeats in the Autumn Nations Series as they were beaten 40-25 by a superb France side in Paris on Saturday.

The All Blacks, who were seeking an immediate response to last week’s 29-20 defeat to Ireland, trailed 24-6 at half-time as a clinical French side took complete control at the Stade de France.

However, three tries in 12 minutes after the interval – from Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane and Ardie Savea – saw New Zealand close to within two points of their hosts at 27-25, as well as becoming the first team in Test match history to score 100 tries in a single season.

At that point French hopes of a first win over the three-time Rugby World Cup winners since 2009 looked to be fading fast, but an incident in the 63rd minute saw the pendulum swing back their way.

Savea was sin-binned to reduce New Zealand to 14 men and France took full advantage with Melvyn Jaminet slotting over the resulting penalty before Damian Penaud broke away for an interception try.

At 37-25 down, there was no way back for New Zealand and France, who had seen Peato Mauvaka score twice either side of Romain Ntamack’s try in a dominant first-half display, wrapped up a memorable win with Jaminet’s late penalty.

Seven-try All Blacks beat France

New Zealand wrapped up a 3-0 series victory over France at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, running out 49-14 winners in a seven-try showing.

Ben Smith, Matt Todd, Damian McKenzie (2) and a hat-trick from Rieko Ioane saw them to the victory, with McKenzie faultless off the tee.

In reply France’s try scorers were Baptiste Serin and Wesley Fofana, both of which came in the first-half, before a second period collapse.

Keeping with the series, there was controversy in the first-half when referee John Lacey seemed to block Serin before McKenzie’s first crossing.  Despite this France would have been happy with their performance in the opening period as they went in just 21-14 behind in Dunedin.

The visitors started brightly with a great spell of possession in the 22 but New Zealand were equal in defence, keeping them out early on.

However on 12 minutes les Bleus crossed through Serin, on for Morgan Parra, as he dummied smartly at the base of a ruck to make it a 7-0.

New Zealand would hit back three minutes later though when a penalty kicked to the corner led to quick ball that saw Sonny Bill Williams feed full-back Smith for a relatively simple run-in.  With McKenzie’s successful conversion the third Test was locked up at seven apiece.

With France losing Parra to a failed HIA and New Zealand flanker Ardie Savea coming off injured, Todd was the next to join the fray and didn’t take long to cross.  A line-out take from temporary replacement Jackson Hemopo led to a drive with Todd at the bottom for 14-7.

France however were not flustered and the returning Fofana would slip over on 28 minutes after another good spell to level things again.

Then came that controversial moment involving Lacey though as McKenzie raced over on 33 minutes, with Serin unable to get to the fly-half.

The first score of the second period was always going to be crucial and it went the way of New Zealand on 47 minutes, with McKenzie’s pace seeing him pierce a hole on the French 22 en route to the line.  That opened up a 14 point cushion for the All Blacks that looked ominous.

So it proved as McKenzie and Williams combined beautifully to send Ioane racing to the whitewash on 53 minutes, which made it a 35-14 gap before the wing added his second seven minutes later on the right sideline, with the French in danger of being on the end of a hammering.

The onslaught looked set to continue from the All Blacks as sustained pressure in France’s 22 resulted in debutant Frizell crossing under the posts.  However, a dream bow was denied as the TMO adjudged him to have been held up.  One sensed a sixth try was not too far in coming.

Ioane was the man to the provide that score, completing his hat-trick, only seconds later and that was to be the final points of the game as New Zealand ran out comfortable winners.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Smith, Todd, McKenzie 2, Ioane 3
Cons:  McKenzie 7

For France:
Tries:  Serin, Fofana
Cons:  Belleau 2

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock (c), 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Liam Coltman, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Jackson Hemopo, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Jordie Barrett

France:  15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Remi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Morgan Parra (c), 8 Kevin Gourdon, 7 Kelian Galletier, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Bernard Le Roux, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements:  16 Adrien Pelissie, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Felix Lambey, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Maxime Medard

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Graham Cooper (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks see off 14-man France to clinch series

New Zealand clinched their three-Test series against France when they secured a 26-13 victory at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

The All Blacks have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with the final match to take place next weekend in Dunedin.

Although New Zealand held the upper-hand for large periods, the complexion of the match changed in the 12th minute when France full-back Benjamin Fall received a red card for upending Beauden Barrett in an aerial challenge.

At the time France were leading 3-0 but Fall’s departure allowed the world champions to take control of proceedings and in the end they outscored les Bleus by four tries to one.

Like last week’s Test in Auckland, France were fastest out of the blocks and the visitors thought they had opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Geoffrey Doumayrou crossed the whitewash – after a superb line break from Kélian Galletier in the build-up – but his effort was disallowed after television replays revealed that he lost control of the ball after Beauden Barrett and Ryan Crotty combined to bring him to ground.

France put that setback behind them and opened the scoring in the 11th minute courtesy of a Morgan Parra penalty after Sam Cane was blown up for illegal play at a maul deep inside his 22.

Shortly afterwards, Fall received his marching orders for his foul on Barrett, who went off the field for a Head Injury Assessment which he failed and he was replaced by Damian McKenzie.

It did not take long for the All Blacks to make their numerical advantage count as one minute later, Joe Moody ran a superb line before gathering a pass from Aaron Smith, just outside France’s 22, before racing away to score a deserved try.

The All Blacks continued to dominate as the half progressed and midway through the half Ben Smith gathered a wayward pass inside France’s 22 and set off on a mazy run – in which he beat three defenders with deft footwork – before dotting down under the posts.

McKenzie converted both tries to give the home side a 14-3 lead before Parra narrowed the gap with his second penalty on the half-hour mark.

With an extra man advantage, the home side became more daring on attack as they ran the ball from all areas of the field.

That approach yielded reward on the stroke of half-time when Rieko Ioane launched an attack from midway between his 22 and the halfway line.  Ioane beat a couple of defenders and was soon inside les Bleus‘ half where he offloaded to Anton Lienert-Brown, who drew in the final defender before throwing an inside pass to Jordie Barrett, who dotted down and McKenzie added the extras to give New Zealand a 21-6 lead at the interval.

The second-half was a more subdued affair although France deserve plenty of credit for being more competitive despite playing with 14 men.

The All Blacks battled to build momentum during this period and had to wait until the 57th minute before they scored points again when Jordie Barrett crossed for his second try.  This, after Crotty and McKenzie laid the groundwork with superb runs before the latter offloaded to Barrett, who rounded off despite the attentions of a couple of defenders.

If the truth be told, this was not business as usual from the All Blacks as their second-half performance was littered with several unforced errors and in the 63rd minute they too were reduced to 14 men when TJ Perenara was yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul inside his half.

Five minutes later, Pierre Bourgarit set off on a barnstorming run before dotting down but like Doumayrou’s effort earlier on, his try was also disallowed by the TMO for a double movement after a desperate tackle from Ben Smith close to the whitewash.

Despite that setback, France finished stronger and just before full-time Cedate Gomes Sa rounded off a flowing move, and Jules Plisson succeeded with the conversion which added some respectability to the final score.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Moody, B Smith, J Barrett 2
Cons:  McKenzie 3
Yellow Card:  Perenara

For France:
Try:  Gomes Sa
Con:  Plisson
Pens:  Parra 2
Red Card:  Fall

New Zealand:  15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock (c), 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Ngani Laumape

France:  15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (c), 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Kelian Gourdon, 7 Kélian Galletier, 6 Mathieu Babillot, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Bernard le Roux, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements:  16 Pierre Bourgarit, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Cedate Gomes Sa, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Maxime Médard

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Luke Pearce (England)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks second-half blitz blows France away

The All Blacks scored seven second-half tries on their way to a slightly flattering 52-11 victory over France at Eden Park on Saturday.

After Beauden Barrett’s sole first-half score, Codie Taylor, Ben Smith, Rieko Ioane (2), Damian McKenzie, Ngani Laumape and Ardie Savea got themselves on the scoresheet as the French scored just the one try through Remy Grosso.

France were the last team to overcome New Zealand at Auckland’s Eden Park, way back in 1994, since then the hosts are unbeaten in 40 games – including the 2011 World Cup final, when they edged les Bleus 8-7.  And the French looked like they might repeat the feat, having led for the majority of the match and doing very well to stifle the All Blacks up until the 50th minute.

But when Paul Gabrillagues was harshly yellow carded for a high tackle in which he never actually made contact with All Black centre Ryan Crotty’s neck 10 minutes after half-time, it seemed to break the defensive shackles of the French and weaken their spirit as they conceded three tries in the period in which Gabrillagues was off the field.

However, it was the French who took an early 5-0 lead.  Teddy Thomas had got the French deep into All Blacks territory with a weaving break in which he showed his dazzling footwork before being chopped down.  However, a couple of phases later, the ball spilled loose from the ruck.  All Black wing Ben Smith collected it but in his haste to get the ball away, his pass was intercepted by Grosso who had a clear run to the line with nobody at home for the hosts.  Although it was an intercept try, it didn’t come against the run of play by any means as the French had already shown that they were dangerous.

World Player of the Year Beauden Barrett slotted his first penalty attempt of the night right down the middle to bring the world champions back to within two after the French were penalised offside.  However, Morgan Parra responded with a penalty to restore the five-point buffer with a quarter of the match gone.

Soon after, the three Barrett brothers combined superbly down the left-hand side of the field to open up the French defence.  Scott Barrett hit a great angle and got the offload away brilliantly for Jordie Barrett, who was halted a couple of metres short.  The ball was quickly worked out to the blindside by Anton Lienert-Brown to Beauden Barrett, who ran from deep and with speed on to the ball, getting on the outside of his man and doing well to skid over within the field of play.

Then Parra, back in the les Bleus fold after a three-year hiatus, showed his importance to the cause when he slotted a monster penalty from just over half-way with a lovely, clean strike of the rugby ball to give France a three-point lead at 11-8 going in to half-time.

The French were guilty of jumping the gun too frequently on defence and gave the All Blacks plenty of penalty opportunities in decent positions, but the world champions were uncharacteristically wasteful in converting.  Although this rush defence tactic was costing them penalties, it proved effective in that it provoked handling errors from the All Blacks as well as preventing the world champions from getting over the advantage line.

Some early substitutions were made in the front-row for both sides with the All Blacks seeming to profit from the changes as they won a penalty shortly afterwards when they demolished the French scrum.  Beauden Barrett made no mistake to level the scores at 11-11.

Just when the All Blacks appeared to be going nowhere, having gone 12 phases, Gabrillagues was harshly penalised for that high tackle on Crotty.  This unfortunately changed the course of the game as the hosts capitalised on the numerical advantage when Beauden Barrett put the try on a platter with a beautifully little-weighted grubber kick in behind for hooker Taylor to fly in behind Thomas.

Soon after, a quick throw from Beauden Barrett got the All Blacks on the attack before the ball was fed out right through the hands where Crotty was on hand to masterfully create the try, keeping the ball in one hand out on the right touchline and fending off a defenders before getting the offload away for Taylor, who played the final offload for Ben Smith who was in great support – as he so often is.

Then a well-worked move straight from the training ground saw Ioane running the shortside off the back of the scrum to find the corner.

Shortly after that, Taylor, who was having a sensational game, hit a gap with a barnstorming carry and got the offload away superbly for McKenzie, with the replacement utility back showcasing his searing pace to run 45 metres to the line.

By now the All Blacks were running riot as McKenzie scythed between French centres Mathieu Bastareaud and Geoffrey Doumayrou to create a try with a perfectly-timed pass to set fellow replacement Laumape off down the right-hand touchline – the Hurricanes centre still having plenty to do, displaying his freakish upper body strength by bulldozing les Bleus full-back Maxime Medard for the finish.

With five minutes to go, a silly pass from Medard gifted Ioane the chance to grab his brace as he ran coast to coast for the intercept try despite a great effort made by Thomas to track him down.

And with time running out Savea would claim the final try of the game, powering over from close range to take them over 50 points.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Barrett, Taylor, Smith, Ioane 2, McKenzie, Laumape, Savea
Cons:  Barrett 3
Pens:  Barrett 2

For France:
Try:  Grosso
Pens:  Parra 2
Yellow Card:  Gabrillagues

New Zealand:  15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock (c), 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Ngani Laumape

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (c), 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Fabien Sanconnie, 7 Kelian Gourdon, 6 Judicaël Cancoriet, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Dany Priso
Replacements:  16 Adrien Pélissié, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Gael Fickou

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), John Lacey (Ireland)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks get the better of France

The All Blacks claimed a 38-18 victory over France in their opening November international fixture at Stade de France on Saturday.

Tries from Dane Coles, Ryan Crotty, Sam Cane and a Waisake Naholo brace proved too much for France who scored through Teddy Thomas and a penalty try.

It was a scrappy affair with plenty of knock-ons and a lot of time was consumed with scrum resets.

The All Blacks blew the French out of the water in the first-half.  Les Bleus had a golden spell during the opening thirteen minutes of the second half in which they made the scoreline slightly more respectable.

The All Blacks drew first blood courtesy of Coles who ran the perfect line to latch on to Beauden Barrett's pass to scythe through the French line of defence to dot down.  Barrett added the extras.

Barrett added a penalty on the 16-minute mark after les Bleus were penalised for holding on to extend the visitors' lead to 10-0.

The All Blacks showed good ball retention keeping the ball through the phases in a move that flowed from left to right before the French defence was finally breached when Barrett's long pass found Naholo out on the right wing for an easy run-in.  Barrett slotted the conversion as the All Blacks took a 17-0 lead after 23 minutes.

Soon after, les Bleus scored a wonderful try with textbook expansive rugby as the ball went through the hands of the French backline seamlessly for Thomas to dive over in the right-hand corner.

The first-half was plagued by stoppages due to the scrum collapsing and Rabah Slimani paid the price when he received a yellow-card for repeatedly infringing in this regard.

The All Blacks duly capitalised on their numerical advantage when Crotty ran through to collect an expertly weighted grubber kick through from Sonny Bill Williams.

Soon after, the visitors further asserted their dominance after superb handling and interplay between forwards and backs saw Cane break the line to go over as the All Blacks took a 31-5 lead in to the interval.

The first action of the second half was a Belleau penalty to make the scoreline look slightly more respectable.  Soon afterwards, a Belleau cross-kick after Dupont had brilliantly made the initial break was punched away by Sonny Bill Williams over the dead ball line;  an action for which the All Black centre was yellow-carded and a penalty try awarded.

Belleau added a penalty to make it 31-18.  The All Blacks put the game beyond doubt when Naholo grabbed his brace after good patient build-up once again.  Barrett converted on the final whistle to give the All Blacks a 38-18 victory.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Thomas, Penalty Try
Pens:  Belleau 2
Yellow Card:  Slimani

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Coles, Naholo 2, Crotty, Cane
Cons:  Barrett 4
Pen:  Barrett
Yellow Card:  Williams

The teams:

France:  15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Mathieu Bastareaud, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Judicael Cancoriet, 5 Paul Gabrillagues, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Clement Maynadier, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Damian Penaud

New Zealand:  15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Tom Foley (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

All Blacks see off inspired France

A 24-19 victory at Stade de France on Saturday night gave New Zealand their 10th consecutive win over France.

The result means the All Blacks finish 2016 with just one defeat, while France failed to make amends for their narrow loss to Australia last week despite playing very well against the World Champions.

Indeed, the French will be asking themselves how they lost this game because they dominated all the key stats.  The scoreboard doesn't reflect just how good their performance was and they will be disappointed to come away with a defeat after dominating most of the game.

New Zealand once again showed their class when it mattered most, their ability to absorb pressure and punish oppoisiton mistakes setting them apart from the rest.  They were nowhere near their best and yet celebrated they 10th win in a row over France.

One look at the stats and France will be kicking themselves that they didn't come closer to win this game.  They had the upper hand at scrum time, dominated territory and possession throughout the game but especially in the first half, made 10 clean line breaks, executed 21 offloads and missed only four tackles.

The All Blacks missed 20 and conceded a whopping 13 penalties, and yet they never looked in danger of losing this game.

France lost this game at the breakdown, where they conceded 19 turnovers compared to five from the Kiwis and the hosts also lost four lineouts.  In the end, their failure to convert their domination into points when in the opposition 22 cost them dearly, with the final pass too often not going to hand.

Watching France it was like they took a leaf out of Ireland's book in the way they started the game.  They were clearly up for the challenge.  They generated quick front foot ball early on and tested the New Zealand defence, especially in the first half where they put the defence under immense pressure with their hard running.

But it was the All Blacks who scored first when Beauden Barrett, in another outstanding performance, gave a clever cross kick which Julian Savea collected before an inside pass to Israel Dagg saw the full-back have enough pace to cross the whitewash.

France continued to probe the Kiwi defence and their offloading saw them make several visits to the opposition 22.  However, they struggled to finish off promising field positions time and again and some desperate New Zealand defending along with that elusive final pass saw the hosts cough possession too many times.

Maxime Machenaud kept France in the game with two penalties which meant they only trailed 10-6 when the half-time whistle went.

The hosts would have been kicking themselves for nit making more use of their domination, especially since the All Blacks are known as a second-half team.

That was indeed the case as the Kiwis grew into the game as the second half progressed.  For the upteenth time France found themselves in New Zealand's 22 and they were on the attack out wide when Barrett intercepted a pass and ran 90 metres against the run of play to extend his team's lead to 17-6.

From there the All Blacks slowly started to take control of the game and when they found themselves in France's 22 they did what the hosts had struggled to do all game — score.

From a ruck in the 22 Kieran Read took the ball up and affloaded the ball to Charlie Faumuina who crashed over from close range to put the nail in France's coffin.

To their credit the hosts never gave up and once again made it to the brink of New Zealand's tryline, but the final pass wasn't there.  It told the story of their night.

However, they finally managed to score thanks to some quick thinking from Baptiste Serin.  France were awarded a scrum 5m out and when they won the penalty Serin took a quick tap and gave a brilliant no-look inside pass to Louis Picamoles who went over for the five-pointer.

Serin slotted the conversion which gave France renewed hope of getting a result.  A penalty with three minutes to play was nailed hy Serin which made it a five-point game, but France were stuck in their own half for the final few minutes which resulted in another disappointing loss for Les Blues.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Picamoles
Con:  Serin
Pens:  Machenaud 2, Serin

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Dagg, Barrett, Faumuina
Cons:  Barrett 3
Pen:  Barrett

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kevin Gourdon, 6 Charles Ollivon, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastian Vahaamahina, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Xavier Chiocci
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Julien Le Devedec, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Gaël Fickou

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Rieko Ioane

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

All Blacks pushed hard in Paris

The All Blacks took a step closer to completing their quest to finish the year unbeaten with a 26-19 victory over France on Saturday.

The result, New Zealand's fourth win over les Bleus in 2013, leaves Steve Hansen's team with 12 wins from 12 starts ahead of next weekend's game against England, but they were made to work very hard at the Stade de France.

When the dust had settled, the tourists had outscored France two tries to one in a gripping encounter on the outskirts of the French capital.

Against all expectations, France were level with the world champions at 9-all at half-time.  In fact, les Bleus could very easily have been ahead had it not been for Morgan Parra missing two relatively easy penalty kicks.

But, true to form, New Zealand raised the tempo in the second-half and made scoring two excellent tries - via Charlie Piutau and Kieran Read - look easy.

France replied through a top-quality try from full-back Brice Dulin and finished the game camped on the New Zealand line.

In the end, the surface at the Stade de France let the home team down as it disintegrated, preventing the dominant French scrum from pushing on for a draw-saving try, that certainly looked on.

Having survived a close shave in the second minute - when Cory Jane came within inches of scoring a try - France grew in confidence as the first-half unfolded.

Parra traded three-pointers with Dan Carter as the French paid the All Blacks' reputation very little respect and progressively took the game to their visitors, finishing the half camped in New Zealand territory.

The trend continued after the break as Parra briefly put France in front only to see Carter reply.

In typical fashion, the All Blacks would score the first try from inside their own half to punish a poor French kick as Charlie Piutau chased down Ben Smith's kick ahead, showing dazzling pace and some decent soccer skills to pounce.

The second came just after the hour mark as Piutau's fantastic offload out the back of his hand was collected by Kieran Read, who cruised home.

The result looked settled but France hit back almost immediately as Dulin finished off a slick backline move that saw Rémi Talès and Gael Fickou combine.

It was all-France in the closing stages, but after series of reset scrums five metres short of the New Zeland line, referee Jaco Peyper spotted Damien Chouly use his hand in the scrum, ending the hosts' hopes of forcing a shock result.

Man of the match:  A number of candidates from both sides but we couldn't look past Charlie Piutau, who scored one try and brilliantly created New Zealand's other.

Moment of the match:  France managed to get over the whitewash in the dying moments but the ball was obscured for the view of the cameras.  Ask any Frenchman, and he'll tell you they deserved a draw.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Dulin
Con:  Parra
Pens:  Parra 4

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Piutau, Read
Cons:  Carter, Cruden
Pens:  Carter 4

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Rémi Talès, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Antonie Claassen, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Gael Fickou.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ben Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Charlie Piutau, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ryan Crotty.

Venue:  Stade de France, Paris
Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Television match official:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

All Blacks complete French clean sweep

The All Blacks completed a 3-0 series victory over France on Saturday with a 24-9 win at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth.

The result is New Zealand's seventh consecutive win over the French, who were once again held try-less, but the result hung in the balance right up to the dying minutes.

New Zeland led 8-6 at the end of an entertaining first-half thanks to a try from wing Ben Smith, but there was very little to choose between the sides.

Indeed, the fired-up Bleus put in a much-improved display in all areas on last week's disaster - especially at the set piece and in their kicking out of hand - and regularly breached the All Blacks' defensive line.

But the hosts would strike at crucial times with Smith's try coming just before the break before Beauden Barrett scored in the last minute to give the scoreline a flattering appearance.

The hosts were given an early let off when referee Nigel Owens harshly called France back for being offside after a clever chip over the top had the Kiwi defence scrambling behind their tryline.

The French would nevertheless take a deserved early led as centre Florian Fritz slotted a drop goal to ensure the visitors were given some reward for a period of sustained pressure.

Dan Carter leveled the scores with a penalty on the 15-minute mark after Yoann Maestri was pinged for a side entry after an attacking line-out for New Zealand.

Carter hit the upright with his next effort before Jean-Marc Doussain sent his first attempt wide to leave the scores locked at 3-all after half-an-hour.

The visitors would have felt they had enjoyed the upper hand in the first half but - as has become a pattern in this series - the All Blacks scored just before half time, with some help from the TMO, as Israel Dagg set up Ben Smith to dive into the corner.

Carter's conversion attempt went wide but Doussain bounced a penalty in off the post to leave the gap at just two points at the interval.

France moved back in front early in the second half after Sam Cane caught Doussain high and the scrum-half again got his kick over off the upright.  Carter replied almost immediately to restore the home side's advantage but missed his next shot a goal.

At 11-9 with 25 minutes to play, it was anyone's game.

The second-half ruck penalty count started to add up against France though and Carter slotted a wonderful kick from the touchline to put New Zealand 14-9 up heading into the final quarter.

A reckless head-first dive into a ruck from Maestri, who copped a yellow card, would essentially seal the win for the hosts as Carter slotted his fourth penalty to extend the gap to eight points and les Bleus finished with 14 men.

Barrett rounded off the win with a long-range try as he chased down wing Smith's kick ahead to sink a nail into France's coffin.

Man of the Match A mention for rookie French pivot Remi Talè, who gave France a new attacking dimension but the standout performnace came from Luke Romano who carried like a machine and tackled tirelessly.

Moment of the match:  No doubt about this one, Ben Smith's try turned the tide in New Zealand's favour.

Villian of the match:  If you're French, it must be Yoann Maestri, whose brain fade killed off France's chances when they were still in with a sniff.

The scorers:

For New Zealand: 
Tries:  B. Smith, Barrett
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 4

For France:
Pens:  Doussain 2
Drop goal:  Fritz
Yellow card:  Maestri (72nd min - foul play)

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Charles Piutau.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Marc Andreu, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Remi Talè, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Damien Chouly, 6 Theirry Dusautoir, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Venue:  Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks crush the French

New Zealand sealed a Test series victory over France with a dominant 30-0 win at AMI Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday.

The two sides will meet again next weekend in New Plymouth with France unable to overtake New Zealand's unassailable 2-0 lead, which came after a comfortable victory over their fellow 2011 Rugby World Cup finalists.

France showed good accuracy and discipline last weekend in Auckland but their lineout this time out particularly in the first half was shambolic;  coming under pressure from New Zealand but also wildly missing their targets.

Ben Smith's breakaway try at the beginning of the second half summed up France's woes - putting sustained pressure on the New Zealand line but unable to find a breakthrough as they finished without a score in a Test for the first time since 1990.

Philippe Saint-André made several changes to his side following the first Test defeat, with Michalak returning at fly-half and young South African-born flanker Bernard Le Roux making his debut in the number seven jersey.

A late change for New Zealand meanwhile saw Crusaders lock Sam Whitelock come into the side for Chiefs second row Brodie Retallick, in an otherwise unchanged XV from last week's victory in Auckland.

The hosts made the early breakthrough - Ma'a Nonu's grubber finding Julian Savea behind the defence to rack up the game's first try in only the third minute of the match.

France struggled to control possession at the lineout and found themselves stuck inside their own half for much of the opening quarter, although some impressive defence on Nonu in particular prevented any further damage on the scoreboard.

Les Bleus had been on top at the breakdown in the first Test and continued that form early on in Christchurch, disrupting any clean ball for the All Blacks who enjoyed the majority of possession as France persisted to kick the ball away.

Two moments of inaccuracy then struck Frederic Michalak within a few minutes, a drop goal falling wide and then his first penalty attempt ricocheting back off the right-hand post and putting the All Blacks on the attack as Read countered.  Pressure on Maxime Medard fielding a kick near his own line yielded a penalty for Aaron Cruden, putting New Zealand 10-0 up.

The All Blacks kicking game continued to press France back into their 22, but whilst the visitors defence was excellent, Dimitri Szarzewski's problems running the short lineout kept handing New Zealand possession five metres out.  For every lineout error however, the work of Thierry Dusautoir and Louis Picamoles at the breakdown saved the day time and again.

With time ticking away in the first half the All Blacks defence repelled a French driving maul to the leave the visitors scoreless at the interval, New Zealand 10-0 up.

The All Blacks then delivered the knockout blow.  Outstanding defence metres out from their own line for the first ten minutes of the second half forced Michalak into a drop goal, the inevitable chargedown leading to Savea and Ben Smith sprinting away for a length of the field score.

Losing Louis Picamoles to injury rubbed salt in French wounds as Cruden added a second penalty - New Zealand leading 20-0 with plenty of time left in the second half.

Looking for something to take towards the third Test next weekend, France introduced plenty of substitutes including Mathieu Bastareaud in midfield but fell further behind due to another Cruden penalty after 64 minutes.

Determined not to concede, New Zealand remained physical in defence and then sealed the win with a stunning score.

Attacking from their own try line, Conrad Smith's chip over the top was recovered by Cruden, whose slick offload to Beauden Barrett saw the young replacement canter in under the posts.

France toiled to find some points as time ran out but to no avail - a dominant victory for New Zealand who showed plenty of improvement from last weekend in Auckland and added some memorable tries to boot.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea, B. Smith, Barrett
Cons:  Cruden 3
Pens:  Cruden 3

For France:

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Piri Weepu, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Rene Ranger.

France:  15 Maxime Méard, 14 Adrien Planté 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Luc Ducalcon, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Brice Dulin, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), James Leckie(Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray

France push All Blacks close

Once again New Zealand were made to work very hard to get the better of France at Eden Park, winning 23-13 in an entertaining clash on Saturday.

In the first game between these sides since the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final at the same venue, the All Blacks outscored their visitors two tries to one but were pushed all the way by a French side showing a marked improvement on their woeful Six Nations campaign.

New Zealand led 17-10 at the interval thanks to tries from Aaron Smith and Sam Cane after France had taken the early lead via a Wesley Fofana score.

There was very little to choose between the old rivals but a series of scrum penalties against France proved influential as they killed off a number of promising attacking opportunities for Philippe Saint-Andr・s men.

The result sees the All Blacks take a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series but with the tourists set to be reinforced by players who took part in the recent Top 14 Final, the next fortnight promises to be intriguing.

France drew first blood when Florian Fritz sliced through in midfield and offloaded to his centre partner Fofana, who raced home.

Maxime Machenaud added the extras and the visitors held a 7-0 advantage until the end of the opening quarter when Aaron Cruden landed his first penalty.

The All Blacks scored their first try on the half-hour mark after Ben Smith burst clear before finding his namesake Aaron up in support.

Cruden's conversion put New Zealand in front but Machenaud replied to level the scores with half time looming large.

Ma'a Nonu ensured that the hosts would head into the tunnel in the lead however as he beat Camille Lopez to set up a try for Cane with skipper Kieran Read proving the link.

Cruden's conversion was the final act of an evenly-contested and entertaining first half.

With Machenaud off injured, Lopez took over the French kicking duties and narrowed the deficit early in the second period.

Referee Wayne Barnes was the centre of controversy before kick-off as the French management and press found it highly irregular that the Englishman was staying at the same hotel as the hosts and Bleus skipper Thierry Dusautoir was fuming when the visitors scrum was penalised while camped on the Kiwi tryline.

Cruden restored the seven-point gap on the hour mark before the All Blacks were given a massive let off when Louis Picamoles knocked-on in front of an open tryline.

The pattern of missed chances - from both sides - continued until the final hooter with Cruden's third penalty securing the win.

Man of the match:  A tough call to make.  Louis Picamoles, Florian Fritz and Adrien Plante all did well for France while Ma'a Nonu made a welcome return to form in the black 12 jersey.  But we'll go for Ben Smith, who not only created New Zealand's first try, but was rock solid at the back as the French looked to get the ball behind the Kiwi pack.

Moment of the match:  The difference between the sides proved to be Sam Cane's try on the stroke of half time after Nonu beat Dusautoir.

Villain of the match:  The scrums were a mess, but no nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  A. Smith, Cane
Cons:  Cruden 2
Pens:  Cruden 3

For France:
Try:  Fofana
Con:  Machenaud
Pens:  Machenaud, Lopez

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ben Afeaki, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Victor Vito, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Rene Ranger.

France:  15 Yoann Huget, 14 Adrien Plante, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Daniel Kotze, 19 Akexandre Flanquart, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Maxime Mermoz.

Venue:  Eden Park, Aukland
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

All Blacks cruise past France

New Zealand will finish 2009 as the world's number-one ranked team thanks to an impressive 39-12 win over France at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Saturday.

A lot has been said about the state of the game over the past few days, but I challenge anyone calling for a change in the laws to go back and watch this game and then tell me that running rugby is dead.

Tries are there to be scored if you've got the balls to have a go ... and the skills to pull it off.

This is what Test rugby should be all about.  A ding-dong battle in the scrums, creativity amongst the backs and, most of all, a high-paced game that tested the skills of both attackers and defenders rather than just the kicking capabilities of the fly-halves and full-backs.

The All Blacks answered their critics with a wonderful display of positive rugby, and were rewarded with five tries.

While Tri-Nations champions South Africa have looked tired and uninspired on tour in November, New Zealand were full of zip and zest in Marseille.

Unlike against the Springboks, the French were unable to grab a stranglehold on the game with their powerful forwards as the visitors were eager to take the ball out wide at pace.

In fact both sides should be commended for the positive spirit with which they approached the game -- the All Blacks however made the difference with their near-flawless execution.

Perhaps most the impressive aspect of New Zealand's tour is the fact that -- just like last year -- they have yet to concede a try on this tour.

The French front row looked a like a pack of hungry wolves after winning their side a penalty at the first scrum and Julien Dupuy obliged by slotting the three points to give France the early lead.

New Zealand however replied with a brilliant try from Sitiveni Sivivatu who simply blitzed Vincent Clerc and Damien Traille, slicing between the two Frenchmen who could little but watch him sail by.

Les Bleus kept coming as Dupuy added two more penalties, including a second against the Kiwi scrum to take the lead back at 9-7.  But not for long.

The All Blacks' second try was even better than the first as Sivivatu turned on the gas from his own 22 before finding Mils Muliaina up in support.

Dan Carter added the conversion and then a penalty to give the visitors some breathing space before the All Black scrum took their revenge by pushing the Tricolor pack backwards on the French line.

Under the pressure Julien Bonnaire fumbled his pick up, allowing Jerome Kaino to dot down the loose ball.

Francois Trinh-Duc landed a long distance drop goal shortly before the half-time whistle to make the scores 22-12.

But, the second half however belonged solely to New Zealand.

When Dupuy missed two early attempts at goal it became clear it wasn't to be France's night.

Cory Jane was next to get on the scoreboard with a classic individual try, collecting his own kick ahead from the touchline to score under the posts.

With France running out of ideas and leaving gaps all over the park, Conrad Smith snuck away down an unattended blindside to rub salt into the wounds.

A late fling from France produced no more points.

Marc Lièvremont and his team with have to continue building if they are to challenge their group partners and hosts at the next World cup.

Man of the match:  He's had a tough year and was distinctly out of form during the Tri-Nations but Sitiveni Sivivatu was back to his very best -- scoring one try, setting up another and putting in some big hits.

Moment of the match:  For half an hour it was anyone's game, but when the All Blacks scrum stepped up and earned Jerome Kaino's try, New Zealand moved out of France's reach.  It wasn't the prettiest of tries, but it had a telling effect on the match as a whole.

Villain of the match:  Plenty of handbags were flung about, but there was no clear bad guy.

The Scorers

For France:
Pens:  Dupuy 3
Drop:  Trinh-Duc

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Sivivatu, Muliaina, Kaino, Jane, Smith
Cons:  Carter 4
Pens:  Carter 2

Yellow cards:  Franks (NZ -- 77th -- foul play)

France:  15 Damien Traille, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Sébastien Chabal, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 William Servat, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Julien Puricelli, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Yann David, 22 Cédric Heymans.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Tanerau Latimer, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Luke McAlister.

Venue:  Stade Vélodrome
Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match officials:  Nigel Whitehouse(Wales)
Assessor:  Paul Bridgman (England)

All Blacks struggle past France

New Zealand enacted a vague revenge for their shock defeat at the hands of France last week, beating the tourists 14-10 in a rain-soaked Wellington.

New Zealand came into the game desperate to atone for last week's uncharacteristic errors.  They had as passionate a crowd backing them as could be and two key players back in the mix to help them on their way.

But a south-wester blew up before kick-off, bringing a fine curtain of rain and bringing to an end any ambition either team had of being able to play cohesive running rugby.

The opening twenty minutes was poor enough to even dull the fervour of the crowd.  By the end of it we had had two missed penalty attempts at goal by Stephen Donald, a missed drop goal from Damien Traille and an awful lot of knock-ons.

We had also had as fine a piece of play-acting as will be found this side of the equator from Cedric Heymans, who milked a late hit from Ma'a Nonu for all it was worth and turning what should have been an All Black line-out 5m from the line into a French penalty.

But he who laughs last, laughs longest.  With New Zealand dominating territory and the French attempts to break out getting rarer and rarer, a home try looked inevitable.

It came after 23 minutes.  Following a good bust up the middle by Keven Mealamu, some quick possession had the French defence streaming over to the left-hand side and Joe Rokocoko headed off to the right.  Bizarrely, hooker William Servat managed to close him down, but Rokocoko's offload to Nonu inside saw the centre canter home in front of his home fans.

Stephen Donald missed his third of the night with the conversion, but that seemed not to matter as Mealamu once again inspired a move that culminated with Cory Jane going in at the corner among French bodies.

There then followed one of those ridiculous TMO conversations where neither referee nor TMO can make his mind up what should happen.  Replays showed Jane sliding over the line with enough of a glimpse of ball to suggest he had got it down, but with enough of Maxime Medard's arm underneath it to cast doubt on that.  The pair then slid into touch.  It could have been a try.  It could have been a 5m scrum to New Zealand.  What it absolutely was not was a 22m drop out to France.  The All Blacks were furious.

France fought their way back into it and carved out a pair of kicks for Julien Dupuy to have a go at goal, but one hit the post and the other flew well wide as time ticked on, then Donald landed a late penalty to make it 8-0 at the break.

The French started the second half with an ambush, when Jane left Heymans a little too much space on the right and the Toulouse flyer was away.  He tore down the left, stepping inside Joe Rokocoko before steaming the final 20 metres home for a scintillating 50m try.  Julien Dupuy's conversion brought his side to within a point.

But the half continued as the first had left off, with New Zealand dominating the territory and failing abjectly to convert their superiority into points.  Donald landed a penalty after 57 minutes but it was scant reward for their superior play.

As the benches emptied, New Zealand found that whatever they gained in individual skill they lost in team cohesion and the French began to spy a chance for another ambush.  Dimitri Yachvili screwed a kick horribly to the right and Brad Thorn got back to make a miracle ball-dislodging tackle on Vincent Clerc within diving distance of the line.

McAlister and Yachvili swapped penalties, the former's ground out of the French by heavy pressure, the latter's as a result of a silly offside at the restart.  New Zealand just could not get enough between themselves and the visitors.

Still the All Blacks hammered away and still nothing came.  The threat of a counter-attack or sucker-punch by France lurked, yet nothing came there either.  Piri Weepu booted the ball out triumphantly from the back of a scrum for the win, but New Zealand will have to be better than this in the Tri-Nations.

Man of the match:  Keven Mealamu delivered a storming performance from hooker, also helping in no small way with New Zealand's line-out dominance through some pinpoint throwing.

Villain of the match:  Cedric Heymans and Ma'a Nonu, the latter for the stupidity of following through with his shoulder even half-heartedly, the latter for his ludicrous parody of someone who had been late-tackled.  This is not football, gentlemen ...

Moment of the match:  Heymans' try.  A moment of individual magic that lit up a game floundering in the weather.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Nonu
Pens:  Donald 2, McAlister

For France:
Try:  Heymans
Con:  Dupuy
Pen:  Yachvili

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina (c), 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Josevata Rokocoko, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 George Whitelock, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Isaia Toeava.

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Sebastien Chabal, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Remy Martin, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Florian Fritz, 22 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Referee:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Nathan Pearce (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole (Australia)

French curse strikes NZ again

France scored their second consecutive win against New Zealand with a well deserved 27-22 victory on their first ever visit to Carisbrook on Saturday.

The visitors scored first and never trailed, eventually outscoring an under-strength All Blacks three tries to two.

A massive defensive display from France was contrasted by a below-par performance from the home team, who were dominated for most of the match.

But nothing should be taken away from France who attacked decisively and made very few errors to record their highest-ever Test score in New Zealand.

France got the scoreboard ticking after enjoying the better of the opening exchanges.  The French maul was functioning well and earned the visitors a penalty in accordance with the return to the "old laws" as the All Blacks pulled it down.

Julien Dupuy opened his account in international rugby without a problem but Stephen Donald leveled the scores ten minutes later after a late tackle from French skipper Thierry Dusautoir.

Les Bleus were competing well in the set pieces, dominating the territory stats in the first quarter and they would be first to cross the whitewash.

A scything run down the inside channel from Francois Trinh-Duc saw the fly-half bounce off four tackles to crash over.  Dupuy added the extras to give France a deserved 10-3 lead.

As the French confidence grew, so did the momentum they were gathering.  When number eight Louis Picamoles ran a kick back from deep just before the half-hour mark, there was trouble brewing.  A wonderful flowing movement in the best traditions of French rugby would follow as the Toulouse back three showed their class, taking the ball up to the corner.  Hooker William Servat's bulk did the rest putting the All Blacks further behind.  Dupuy was on target from the touchline with the conversion to give the visitors a fourteen-point lead.

The All Blacks had been their own worst enemies and never looked like touching down in the first half-an-hour.  They struggled to string any phases together and the tackling just wasn't up to scratch.

The home side looked certain to score when they laid siege to the French try-line with series of drives after Isaac Ross secured possession at an attacking line-out.  But all the forwards' hard work in retaining the ball was wasted when Isaia Toeava knocked-on as the ball went wide.  It seemed to sum up the All Black performance in the first half.

New Zealand were thrown a lifeline just before the break however.  First Donald slotted a penalty on 39 minutes before a try from Liam Messam after the hooter put the All Blacks back in the game.

The French were caught flat-footed when Jimmy Cowan chipped ahead, and not out as they expected as the siren went.  Cory Jane plucked the ball from the air to break.  Messam was up in support to round off the 70m move and Carisbrook could breathe again.  Donald's conversion attempt was wide, leaving the score 17-11 as the teams heading for the changing rooms.

There was a distinct change in momentum in the second period.  The All Blacks displayed much more urgency and were rewarded with an early penalty to reduce to gap to three.  Donald's next attempt soon afterwards bounced off the post but his third kick in twenty minutes found the mark to level the scores at 17-all.

The All Blacks brought Luke McAlister on at inside centre for the last quarter but it was Dupuy who would put France back in the lead with fifteen minutes to play.  His penalty provided France's first points in 37 minutes.

The knock-out blow was soon to follow when full-back Maxime Medard intercepted a pass from McAlister and then outpaced him to score under the posts to give France a ten-point lead.

The home side fought back well and Mils Muliaina's first line-break of the game provided the impetus for Ma'a Nonu to score in the corner with four minutes to play.

But it was too little to late as, once Donald had missed the conversion, the French forwards were able to run down the clock at the death and hand France an historic victory.

Man of the match:  Francois Trinh-Duc's running of the game proved decisive.

Moment of the match:  Being as Trinh-Duc already has a mention, we'll plump for Maxime Medard's winning intercept try -- an inauspicious return for Luke McAlister.

The scorers

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Messam, Nonu
Pens:  Donald 4

For France:
Tries:  Trinh-Duc, Servat, Medard
Cons:  Dupuy 3
Pens:  Dupuy 2

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina (c), 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Cory Jane, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Adam Thomson, 6 Kieran Read, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 Tanerau Latimer, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Lelia Masaga.

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Cedric Heymans , 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 William Servat, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Sebastien Chabal 19 Julien Puricelli, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Yannick Jauzion, 22 Alexis Palisson.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia),
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks click into gear against France

New Zealand recorded an easy 61-10 win over France in the second Test as expected on Saturday, but the manner of the win was far more convincing than last week, and was a gentle reminder that perhaps this All Black team has not played its best already.

However, there are still worries for Graham Henry, with locks Keith Robinson and Ali Williams both leaving the game injured -- Robinson before the game had even started!

For France, the result, a record defeat against any team, will only serve to reinforce Bernard Laporte's view that this was a tour that should never have gone ahead.

June the 6th was D-Day when the Allied Forces went across the Channel to liberate France.  On June the 9th France went half way across the world and were captured and destroyed by New Zealand.

The All Blacks were much too good.  No matter what they did the French had no real counter to it.  Oh, they could get in the way and act bravely but they had no real answer as yet another Northern Hemisphere side -- labelled weakened/understrength -- gave a Southern Hemisphere side the opportunity to break records in a match practice masquerading as a Test match.

The French simply could not threaten the All Blacks.  Their forwards were destroyed in the scrums, outnumbered and outpowered at the tackle/ruck and beaten at the many kick-offs.  When their backs had the ball they were disjointed and jittery.  France's rugby is renowned for its skilful back play -- sophisticated handling off great running lines, fixing an opponent to let someone else run with elan.  There was no elan on a still, cold Wellington night with steam on the breath.

The difference between the two teams was most probably more than 51 points.

And so the All Blacks won the series 2-0 and retained the Dave Gallaher trophy which is in competition between the two countries.

For the All Blacks there was some concern about their locks.  They have already lost Jason Eaton and James Ryan to injury and neither will be at the World Cup.  On this cold night Keith Robinson tore a calf muscle in the on-field warm-up just before the Test.  Then during the match Sébastien Chabal charged.  Ali Williams stood up to him and crashed to the ground.  Williams went off blood trickling from his mouth and he was bundled into an ambulance and taken to hospital with a jaw possibly fractured.

Both could recover before the World Cup but it is not consoling for the All Blacks.  Troy Flavell was brought onto the bench in Robinson's place and then onto the field in Williams's place and played a half and a bit.

New Zealand hit the match running but France scored first when Williams was penalised for holding on in a tackle.

Luke McAlister could have levelled the score but hit the upright on a night when he did all the kicking and did it poorly.  Had he been accurate the score would have been over 70.

After McAlister's kick bounced infield, the All Blacks scored.  Young Arnaud Mignardi opted not to kick the ball away but ran it up and then knocked on.  From the ensuing scrum the All Blacks bashed and bashed with Byron Kelleher and Richie McCaw, both playing their 50th Test, prominent till Anton Oliver dived at the padding on the post and scored.  McAlister converted to put the All Blacks ahead after 121 minutes.  The French lead lasted seven minutes and did not return.

After McAlister had kicked two penalties, the All Blacks ran from depth in a match when their back three were much, much more involved than they had been at Eden Park.  Leon MacDonald kicked ahead and Julien Laharrague conceded a five-metre scrum.

From the scrum Kelleher went to the right and powered over despite the efforts to stop him of Benjamin Boyet, young Damien Chouly and Laharrague.  20-3.

Form the kick-off, the All Blacks won the ball and Kelleher kicked downfield.  French scrum-half Nicolas Durand went back to collect the bouncing ball near the touch-line on France's left.  His back to chasing Joe Rokocoko, Durand played the ball infield, intending it for Chabal.  Rokocoko enjoyed intercepting the little pass and set off for the line and the first of his two tries in the match McAlister missed the easy conversion but New Zealand led 25-3 after 27 minutes.

It was just after this that Williams departed, bloodied after he had stopped the warrior-like Chabal.

France had a five-metre line-out after a penalty and tried a maul.  It was not much of a maul and they lost the ball.  That happened again in the second half.  They simply could make no impression on the All Blacks.

The All Blacks went on one of their mazy attacks with their wings much in evidence till Flavell gave Rokocoko a pass and his second try.

While the French ran sideways and made no ground, the All Blacks were direct and made lots of ground.

That made the half-time score 38-3.  The half had been a better performance for New Zealand than they had managed in the whole of their big first-Test win.

The French had the ball early in the second half but Jack won it off them on the right.  On the far left as the All Blacks chain-passed across the field, Sitiveni Sivivatu dismissed Thomas Castaignède and sent MacDonald running 40 metres for the try.  35-5

The All Blacks were close again from the kick-off and were inside the French 22 when France scored.  Isaia Toeava knocked on a difficult inside pass from Nick Evans and Durand snapped it up.  He raced down the middle of the field with the faster All Blacks closing in on him.  He stopped, waited and gave to Benjamin Thierry who gave to Laharrague who scored.  Boyet converted.  35-10 after 52 minutes.

Chabal went off at this stage to cheers from the crowd who acknowledged a brave competitor and great personality.  And France signed off, leaving the All Blacks to play against themselves.

Toeava took an inside pass from McAlister and scored at the posts.  42-10.

New Zealand made a penalty into a five-metre line-out and bashed and bashed till Jerry Collins scored through four tacklers.  McAlister converted.  49-10 with 14 minutes to play.

The All Blacks did some more mazy running with wonderful support till Rodney So'oialo grubbered across field but the ball ran into touch five metres from the French line.

France cleared their lines but not far enough.  Keven Mealamu threw into Neemia Tialata who popped it back to Mealamu who scampered off to score.  54-10.

France were in tatters.  Olivier Magne had to move out to centre while captain Raphaël Ibañez came quietly onto the field to play flank.

After Jack had won a French throw into a line-out, McAlister burst free and sent Evans scooting for the posts.  McAlister converted to set new records to French humiliation.

Man of the Match:  Take your All Black pick but the most impressive player every time he got the ball -- and he got it more often than usual because he looked for work -- was Joe Rokocoko.

Moment of the Match:  There were lots of exciting moments but the most memorable was the clash between Sébastien Chabal, hair wild, and Ali Williams, which may have serious consequences for the All Blacks.

Villain of the Match:  Nobody at all.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Oliver, Kelleher, Rokocoko 2, MacDonald, Toeava, Collins, Mealamu, Evans
Cons:  McAlister 5
Pens:  McAlister 2

For France:
Try:  Julien Laharrague
Con:  Boyet
Pen:  Boyet

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Keith Robinson; 3 Carl Hayman; 2 Anton Oliver, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Chris Jack, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Ma'a Nonu, 22 Doug Howlett.

France:  15 Thomas Castaignède, 14 Julien Laharrague, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Lionel Mazars, 11 Jean Francois Coux, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Nicolas Durand, 8 Sébastien Chabal, 7 Olivier Magne, 6 Damien Chouly, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Pascal Papé (captain), 3 Olivier Sourgens, 2 Sebastien Bruno, 1 Christian Califano.
Replacements:  16 Raphaël Ibañez, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Olivier Olibeau, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Michael Forest, 21 Nicolas Laharrague, 22 Benjamin Thiéry.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Paul Marks (Australia)
Television match official:  Matt Goddard (Australia)
Assessor:  Brendan McCormick (Australia)

All Blacks overcome brave French

New Zealand notched up five tries to beat France 42-11 in what was an average performance from the hosts with Les Bleus showing plenty of courage throughout the match at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

Winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and centre Aaron Mauger bagged a brace of tries each to help make the scoreline a respectable one.

If you were a New Zealand supporter who believed in a scoreline, you would have found beating France 42-11 satisfying.  You believed that the All Blacks always started the Test season slowly, you would have been comforted.  If you counted tries, five to one against France was pleasing.  If you were an ardent believer in the power of scrumming, you would have had your faith confirmed.  But in truth there was not a lot else that was satisfying or comforting.

New Zealand were playing against an untried French combination of grandfathers and grandsons, cobbled together in less than a week and arriving in distant New Zealand on Tuesday, which made a bit of a mockery of claims that New Zealand were rusty because they had had little time to prepare.

New Zealand were not threatened at all in a match in which they dominated possession from line-outs, scrums, tackle/rucks and penalties.  They dominated territory to the extent of 77 per cent, and yet they at no stage looked fluent.

Partly it was the fault of New Zealand handling on an Auckland night.  But partly it was the great commitment of the French on defence as they kept bringing All Black icons crashing to earth.

Two of the icons -- Daniel Carter and Richie McCaw -- were kept off for the second half, Carter with a sore ankle and McCaw with a bruised thigh.  Eventually both sides used all their replacements and France may have had the worst of the injuries.  Jean-Philippe Grandclaude was helped off early in the match and a wobbly Pascal Papé late in the match after a long delay for injury.

In fact there were several delays for injury in the match, several for long and sloppy scrums and a couple for long examinations by a careful television match official.

After operatic anthems and a violent haka, before a pleasing crowd of 41,500, Benjamin Boyet kicked off for France.  Despite a plethora of possession and territory the All Blacks did not find scoring easy and got their first try only after 29 minutes -- a well constructed try, in fact the best constructed of the five tries.

The All Blacks scored first when debutant Grégory Le Corvec was off-side and Daniel Carter kicked a goal.  after seven minutes.  Carter was hurt and so Piri Weepu kicked the next goal.  6-0 after 10 minutes.

France got close enough for Boyet to kick a penalty when Reuben Thorne was penalised at a tackle.  That was the only penalty conceded by the All Blacks in the first half.  (The penalty count for the match was 12-4 in the favour of the All Blacks.)

The try came from a scrum on the New Zealand right.  Carter, as he was being tackled, played inside to Joe Rokocoko who burst and gave to Isaia Toeava who gave Aaron Mauger a clear run to the posts.  13-3 as Carter converted.

Just before half-time Carter, going left, chopped right and Sitiveni Sivivatu ran onto the ball, footing ahead.  There was poor defence by Thomas Castaignède and the ball ended in the French in-goal.  The TMO took a long, long, restless time deciding that it was a try.  Weepu converted and the score at the break was 20-3.

Nick Evans started the second half in Carter's place and started sharply.  In fact he had an excellent half, always causing problems for the French defence.

He kicked a penalty but then, when Ali Williams was penalised for a high tackle, Boyet kicked one.  23-6 after 44 minutes.

From now on the All Black pack shattered the French scrums.  From one such shatter Chris Masoe set the All Blacks running and Sivivatu was close.  In fact he was over but was penalised in the process.

The All Blacks stayed on the attack, taking scrums for penalties.  Weepu did tap one and was tackled by Boyet who was sent to the sin bin for doing so before retreating properly.  The All Blacks did some stamping on Papé here and there was an upsurge of emotion.

From the five-metre scrum Evans slid a left-footed grubber into the French in-goal but Toeava failed to ground the ball, as the wise TMO advised.  That led to a five-metre scrum for France which the All Blacks destroyed.  This led to a try by Sivivatu off a slap-on that looked decidedly forward.  28-6.

France had their only chance to attack in the match and scored a try.  Their attack consisted of two diagonal kicks which would qualify as foot passes.  Castaignède gave the first to his right and then when they went left Olivier Magne gave one to his left into the New Zealand in-goal where debutant Jean-François Coux scored despite being tackled early by Rokocoko.  28-11 with 21 minutes to play.

The fourth New Zealand try did not come from one of their pressure situations on attack but from far out as they started to counter from their own 22.  They kicked ahead and caught Castaignède in possession.  Rodney So'oialo forced the turn-over and off they went right where Sivivatu handed speeding Mauger a sweet pass and the centre cut clean through for an untrammeled run to the posts.  35-11 with 17 minutes to play.

At this stage Boyet returned from the sin bin.

The last New Zealand try started with a gross error by France.  Mauger kicked into the 22 where right wing Benjamin Thiéry caught a mark.  He started to kick and then stopped.  The All Blacks were in quickly.  The kick void, New Zealand had a scrum six metres out and attacked going right where So'oialo forced his way through Arnaud Mignardi and Nicolas Durand to score a try which Evans converted.

The All Blacks could have had one more when Rokocoko burst downfield on the right and passed inside to Brendon Leonard.  It was a high pass and the replacement half-back could not hold on for what could well have been a try on debut.

Man of the Match:  Often maligned, often disciplined, Ali Williams had a great match.  He was part of the All Blacks' possession domination and also found time to run with purpose on several occasions.  He is our Man of the Match.

Moment of the Match:  A tackle -- Sébastien Chabal's thumping tackle on Chris Masoe that left the strong All Black groggy.

Villain of the Match:  Nobody really worth mentioning.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Mauger 2, Sivivatu 2, So'oialo
Cons:  Carter 2, Evans 2
Pens:  Carter, Weepu, Evans

For France:
Tries:  Coux
Pens:  Boyet 2

Yellow cards:  Boyet (France, 52min, dangerous tackle)

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Reuben Thorne, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Troy Flavell, 19 Rodney So'oialo, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Nick Evans, 22 Ma'a Nonu.

France:  15 Thomas Castaignède, 14 Jean-Francois Coux, 13 Arnaud Mignardi, 12 Jean-Philippe Grandclaude, 11 Benjamin Thiéry, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Nicolas Durand, 8 Sébastien Chabal, 7 Olivier Magne, 6 Gregory Le Corvec, 5 Pascal Papé (captain), 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Sebastian Bruno, 1 Christian Califano.
Replacements:  16 Raphaël Ibañez, 17 Franck Montanella, 18 Olivier Olibeau, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Mickael Forest, 21 Nicolas Laharrague, 22 Ludovic Valbon

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges:  Matt Goddard (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)