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Test hooker identifies 'almost that All Blacks aura of old' in French sweep
By Ned Lester
New Zealand’s July Series clean sweep of France has got some Kiwi pundits excited, with one former All Black highlighting how the team has started to execute when All Blacks outfits of yesteryear would falter.
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The All Blacks dominated much of the 2010s, not always with monstrous scorelines, but with a knack of getting over the line when it came down to those winning moments.
That hasn’t been the case in more recent campaigns, with the Kiwis forfeiting second-half leads in three of their 2024 Rugby Championship contests and once more against France in the Autumn Nations Series.
The seeming inevitability of the Steve Hansen All Blacks earned the team what has been described as an ‘aura’, something the team has been desperate to recapture since it slipped through the gaps in the latter stages of the 2010s.
Against what was labelled a French ‘B’ team, it was always Scott Robertson’s men who were the ones scoring points when the game was on the line.
Whether it was a Beauden Barrett penalty in game one or a Brodie McAlister try in game three, the Kiwis ensured their wins in the close encounters.
Some may criticise the team for having those games come down to the wire when the French were without so many of their superstars who won the 2025 Six Nations, but for former All Blacks hooker James Parsons, the knack for winning displayed by the team bodes very well for the future.
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“It’s understanding timing in the game; it is a game of chess,” Parsons explained on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“If you look at Brodie McAlister’s try, it’s actually going through them early and being direct that commits all those defenders to create the time and space for Jordie (Barrett) to go through.
“So, you’re always playing away for that moment and relying on the player, that is Jordie Barrett, in this case, to pull trigger when it’s most on.
“If you even look at the ball of (Du’Plessis) Kirifi, he gets absolutely smoked. That is perfect timing in terms of drawing all that defence out to create that space, to get the fend and then Jordie does what Jordie does.
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“If you look at their stats, and it’s going to be hard to ever match Wellington. That was an absolute clinic. But still, really strong getting gain line 65 per cent of the time, 33 per cent dominant carries; if we use the best marker in Super Rugby of the Chiefs at 36 per cent, so 33 at Test match footy, it’s not too bad.
“For instance, the Lions were at 24 per cent and Australia were at 19 per cent, just to give that context. And ten 63 per cent lightning quick ball.
“Where they just didn’t quite get their momentum, they conceded five breakdown turnovers. So, just that disconnect when there was a good carry, there was a separation with that clean, and it didn’t allow them to have that all their own way.
“I think France putting that extra defender in the line, adjusting to that on the run, they did that eventually with a kick for Will Jordan, but that 14th person actually allowed for a little bit more disruption and probably not the 50 per cent dominant carries that they’d got the week previous. It was a good adjustment by the French.
“But as I said, I just think they were put under pressure; it wasn’t going their way, and they found a way. I think that’s the most exciting bit for me. It’s just that All Blacks mindset, or that All Blacks aura of old – I’m not saying it’s back, I will pump my own brakes here, but I’m really excited by the maturity and the composure that they showed when it wasn’t all going their way.”