Dave Rennie’s New-Look All Blacks Edged France In A Breathless Opener

Dave Rennie began his tenure as All Blacks head coach with a hard-fought victory as New Zealand edged a spirited France 34-32 in a thrilling nine-try encounter at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch.

In a breathless, high-tempo contest that produced five tries for the hosts and four for the visitors, the All Blacks were pushed to the limit by a determined French side. Rennie handed starts to four uncapped players in his first Test in charge, while Ardie Savea captained the side, and his youthful team responded with an entertaining display to usher in the new era on a winning note.

France made the perfect start in the second minute through Damian Penaud.

After securing a lineout inside All Blacks territory, the visitors quickly worked their way towards the try line. Slick handling from Matthieu Jalibert and Penaud created space out wide before rapid recycling kept the attack alive. Back in the side after being omitted for the Six Nations, Penaud timed his run to perfection to finish off a flowing move and hand France an early lead.

Maxime Lucu added the straightforward conversion to make it 7-0.

To compound matters for the hosts, Ruben Love was shown a yellow card on his starting debut after his shoulder made contact with the head of Max Spring.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the All Blacks dominated possession and patiently worked through the phases, forcing France’s defence to narrow. Spotting the overlap, they shifted the ball wide to an unmarked Will Jordan, who still had plenty of work to do before producing a spectacular diving finish in the corner ahead of the scrambling French defenders.

Damian McKenzie missed the conversion, but the All Blacks were on the scoreboard, trailing 7-5.

In the 14th minute, New Zealand were penalised for not rolling away at the breakdown, allowing Lucu to slot a straightforward penalty and extend France’s lead to 10-5.

Both sides produced a thrilling display of attacking rugby, but it was the All Blacks who struck next. McKenzie sliced through the defensive line from halfway before carrying play deep into French territory.

With the defence scrambling, New Zealand shifted the ball at pace and a beautifully executed give-and-go between Peter Lakai and Caleb Clarke carved open the visitors once more, allowing Lakai to canter over for the third try of the match.

Love added the conversion as the All Blacks moved into a 12-10 lead.

On the half-hour mark, Lucu’s reliable boot restored France’s advantage, with the scrum-half kicking a penalty to edge the visitors 13-12 ahead after New Zealand were penalised.

With half-time looming, the home side camped inside the French 22, piling on relentless pressure as the visitors scrambled desperately in defence. Eventually, the resistance cracked when Cam Roigard sold a superb dummy before sniping over from close range to cap a pulsating first half.

Love converted to send the All Blacks into the break with a 19-13 lead.

HALF-TIME: NEW ZEALAND 19-13 FRANCE

France began the second half just as they had the first – with a try.

After forcing a turnover, the visitors immediately laid siege to the All Blacks’ try line.

Once the ball reached the magical hands of Jalibert, France sprang into life. The fly-half whipped it through the hands of Fabien Brau-Boirie and Theo Attissogbe before the latter produced a sublime inside pass for substitute Antoine Hastoy to race over in a move that could only be described as magnifique.

Lucu converted to put France back in front at 20-19.

However, the visitors’ joy was short-lived as Roigard continued his outstanding display, crossing for his second try after a slick interchange with Quinn Tupaea and Jordie Barrett.

Love made no mistake with the conversion to restore New Zealand’s six-point advantage after 51 minutes.

France thought they had hit back immediately, but Brau-Boirie’s try was ruled out for a knock-on in the build-up.

Minutes later, France would not be denied. The All Blacks’ struggles with their kicking game and exits proved costly once again as Attissogbe crossed in the corner to cap another sweeping attack in a contest that continued to ebb and flow.

Lucu proved he was human after all, pushing the conversion wide to leave just a single point between the sides at 26-25 heading into the final quarter.

France were then penalised for playing the ball at the breakdown while off their feet, and Love made no mistake from directly in front, extending New Zealand’s lead to 29-25 after 66 minutes.

The All Blacks’ blend of steel and flair came to the fore in a decisive passage of play. Love and Billy Proctor combined to force a crucial turnover before New Zealand shifted the ball wide at pace. France’s defence could not prevent Luke Jacobson from producing a superb offload, sending Jordan over for one of the easiest tries of his career.

Love missed the conversion, but New Zealand’s lead had grown to 34-25 as the match entered the final 10 minutes.

The sensational Jalibert crashed over in the 78th minute to set up a grandstand finish. The conversion cut New Zealand’s lead to just two points, but despite a frantic closing spell, the All Blacks held firm to seal a thrilling victory.

It was a pulsating contest from the opening whistle to the final siren, and if this encounter is anything to go by, the inaugural Nations Championship promises to deliver plenty more spectacular rugby.