Rugby: All Blacks romp comes at a cost

All Blacks 61 France 10 View photos

All Black Ali Williams leaves the field with a suspected broken jaw. Photo / Reuters

The All Blacks coasted to a record 61-10 test rugby roasting of France in Wellington tonight but the result may have come at a significant injury cost.

A nine-try performance carried New Zealand to their expected win over the understrength tourists in the second test at Westpac Stadium but news that lock Ali Williams had been taken to hospital with a suspected broken jaw put a dampener on the evening.

Such an injury would almost certainly rule 41-test veteran Williams out of the upcoming Tri-Nations and, potentially, the World Cup this year.

It would be another blow to New Zealand's locking depth, with James Ryan and Jason Eaton already injured and out of World Cup contention.

On top of that, injury-prone lock Keith Robinson was a last-minute omission from tonight's test after suffering a a calf muscle injury during the warmups. He was replaced by Chris Jack.

The injuries mattered little tonight as the All Blacks dominated the decimated French in a test that bore many of the hallmarks of last week's 42-11 first test victory at Auckland.

France struggled to foot it with the All Blacks scrum, and could not match the speed or power of the home pack at the tackle and breakdown.

It allowed the star studded New Zealand backline to run amok, with winger Joe Rokocoko the beneficiary with two tries.

While it was an improved All Blacks performance on last week's rusty opener, they were guilty again of some over-elaborate play and basic handling errors.

The scoreline could have been greater had Luke McAlister not endured a mixed match with his goalkicking, although he created a number of tries with his sleight of hand.

It was the All Blacks highest score and greatest winning margin in 45 tests against France. Both records were previously contained in the 54-7 win of eight years ago, at Wellington's Athletic Park.

The All Blacks also produced their 23rd consecutive win on home soil since 2003, surpassing the previous world record set by England from 1999 to 2003.

French first five-eighth Benjamin Boyet opened the scoring with a penalty but the rest of the first spell was almost entirely one-way traffic.

In the 11th minute hooker Anton Oliver burrowed low and forced the ball on to the goalpost padding for the All Blacks' first try.