Sheevas Dayal
Auckland, June 14, 2018
A questionable Yellow Card decided the fate of the game as French lock Paul Gabrillagues was sent off for high tackle.
This allowed New Zealand to score three quick tries and victory in the first Test of their three-match series on Saturday, June 9, 2018 at Auckland’s Eden Park.
After a closely fought first half, peppered with the kind of rustiness you would expect from the opening test of the season, the All Blacks took command quickly which established them into their attacking tempo.
Codie Taylor and Ben Smith scored tries while Paul Gabrillagues was off the field and Rieko Ioane scored the third of the night just seconds after the lock returned to ease the All Blacks 19 points clear with a quarter of play remaining.
Damian McKenzie, Ngani Laumape and Ioane and Ardie Savea also followed as the All Blacks ran riot in the final quarter to continue their dominance for more than two decades at Eden Park.
ABs take control
In spite of the controversial Yellow Card blowing the game open, All Blacks had started to look threatening by controlling possession and territory.
The visitor’s 11-8 half-time lead was a testimony to their defensive strength, exemplified by their goal-line tackling when the All Blacks exerted pressure just before the break.
Winger Ben Smith was a constant threat despite having a few nervous moments at the start and Beauden Barrett directed play beautifully, even though he just had two successful attempts from seven.
Debutant Chiefs prop Karl Tu’inukuafe dominated the scrum as soon as he took the field; immediately winning the side a penalty.
In the closing moments, Ardie Savea thundered across the tryline to put an end to France’s first outing.
All Blacks Captain Sam Whitelock said, “We were behind on the scoreboard and as soon as we drew even, the boys really picked up again and it felt good. We just had to hold on to the ball. A couple of times in that first half we dropped the ball and gave them the opportunities. The second half we were a lot better, we capitalised on those opportunities.”
The Teams
All Blacks: 1. Joe Moody 2. Codie Taylor 3. Owen Franks 4. Samuel Whitelock (Captain) 5. Scott Barrett 6. Liam Squire 7. Sam Cane 8. Luke Whitelock 9. Aaron Smith 10. Beauden Barrett 11. Rieko Ioane 12. Ryan Crotty 13. Anton Lienert-Brown 14. Ben Smith 15. Jordie Barrett 16. Nathan Harris 17. Karl Tu’inukuafe (New Captain) 18. Ofa Tuungafasi 19. Vaea Fifita 20. Ardie Savea 21. TJ Perenara 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Ngani Laumape
France: 1. Dany Priso 2. Camille Chat 3. Uini Atonio, 4. Paul Gabrillagues, 5. Yoann Maestri 6. Judicael Cancoriet 7. Kevin Gourdon 8. Fabien Sanconnie 9. Morgan Parra 10. Anthony Belleau 11. Remy Grosso 12. Geoffrey Doumayrou 13. Mathieu Bastareaud 14. Teddy Thomas 15. Maxime Medard
Substitutes: 16. Adrien Pelissie 17. Cyril Baille 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Bernard Le Roux 20. Alexandre Lapandry, 21. Baptiste Serin, 22. Jules Plisson, 23.Gael Fickou
Some AB-France facts
Matches played: 58
All Blacks won: 45
France won: 12
Draw: 1
Last Match: All Blacks 38, France 18 (November 11, 2017)
Largest All Blacks winning margin: 61-10 (2007)
Sheevas Dayal is our Rugby Correspondent.
Photo Caption:
French wing Remy Grosso leaves Eden Park with a facial injury.
(Photo Courtesy: Photosport through RNZ)
