Dan Carter kicks during the third test match between the All Blacks and France. Photo / Getty Images
New Zealand 24
France 9
Contentment rather than elation flooded the All Black camp last night. Their ability to emerge triumphant against what they felt was the best French performance of the series was being cherished.
That was the point All Black coach Steve Hansen was at pains to stress -
France had come to play, had kicked superbly and competed everywhere they needed to.
Ideally the All Blacks would have finished on a high by delivering an emphatic, dominating performance that left no doubt about their world ranking. That wasn't possible given the efforts of the French, but just because the game never flowed or the All Blacks never cut loose, wasn't necessarily enough to convince Hansen he and his players shouldn't be proud of what they managed.
"We probably didn't get them [improvements on Christchurch] in the way we would have liked to get them with a big flash scoreboard saying that we have won the game and we have won it easily," he said.
