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An unfortunate incident in the 12th minute of the match has marred the contest between the All Blacks and France in Wellington.
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After a strong opening ten minutes from the French, where they applied significant pressure, had a Geoffrey Doumayrou try disallowed and had the All Blacks back-pedalling, fullback Benjamin Fall was ordered to leave the field and his side were left with just 14 men for the remaining 68 minutes.
Fall’s night ended early when he was shown a red card after taking All Blacks first-five eighth Beauden Barrett out in the air and subsequently out of the game. Referee Angus Gardner ruled Fall was not in a realistic position to make a play on the ball.
Fall headed to the bench and Barrett went for an HIA after landing awkwardly, where he was ruled out for the rest of the contest – as were his French opponents.
After conceding two quick tries to All Blacks prop Joe Moody and wing Ben Smith it looked as though the French were going to fold in spectacular fashion.
However, Jacques Brunel’s men were resilient in Fall’s absence for the remainder of the first spell, and were unfortunate to concede once more just seconds out from the break after a Rieko Ioane break down the left wing. Ioane found centre Anton Lienert-Brown on his inside who flipped the ball on to Jordie Barrett to score under the posts and drive a dagger into the French hearts on the stroke of halftime.
The second 40 lacked inspiration from the home side as the All Blacks attempted to once again separated themselves entering the final quarter of play. That separation never eventuated as the All Blacks were held to just five second-half points.
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Their attack looked stale and lacked the regular cohesion fans have come accustomed to over the years. Passes weren’t going to hand and the ball wasn’t taken care of. On the defensive side of the ball, the All Blacks looked like they still hadn’t quite shaken the rust. Plenty of first-up tackles were missed and penalties were conceded.
Credit: All Blacks
Jordie Barrett grabbed his second try around the 60-minute mark after a Damian McKenzie break from a lineout near halfway. McKenzie found replacement halfback TJ Perenara who was dragged down five metres out, and the All Blacks simply shifted the ball through the hands for the 21-year-old Barrett to crash over.
The sides played with 14 men each for ten minutes after TJ Perenara was issued a yellow card when he was caught offside in a tackle late in the second half. France were almost shorthanded once again after flyhalf Anthony Belleau upended All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock above horizontal just minutes later.
French reserve hooker and debutante Pierre Bourgarit had a late try rubbed out after he was ruled to have made a double movement – his side’s second denied try of the night.
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Plenty of credit must go to the gutsy French who showed incredible resilience after losing a man in the early stages. The back-row stood out as loose forward trio Kelian Galletier, Kevin Gourdon and Mathieu Ballibot combined to make 26 tackles, missing just one each and winning two turnovers.
France held the majority of the possession at 58% – a stark contrast to their 35% last weekend – but were unable to capitalise on the scoreboard. Replacement prop Cedate Gomes Sa scored the try of the night, finishing a 50-metre move after the final hooter following some slick offloading from Baptiste Serin and Alexandre Lapandry.
With victory now secured by the All Blacks, the series will conclude next weekend at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
ALL BLACKS 26 (J. Barrett 2, B. Smith, Moody tries; McKenzie 3 cons) FRANCE 13 (Gomes Sa try; Plisson con, Parra 2 pens) HT 21-6
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Did footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
34 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
34 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to comments