The French will be buoyed by their first test performance as they look to beat the All Blacks on home soil for the first time since 2009.
However, they have never beaten the All Blacks in Wellington, a city named after the man who orchestrated one of France’s most famous defeats at the Battle of Waterloo.
Their poor record in the Capital includes a shock World Cup pool loss to Tonga in 2011.
All Blacks v France history
Played - 65
All Blacks won - 49
France won - 15
Draws - 1
All Blacks points scored - 1694
France points scored - 925
All Blacks v France - What happened last time in Wellington?
2018 - All Blacks 26 France 13
Benjamin Fall was sent off for clipping Beauden Barrett in the air in just the 11th minute and France were never going to upset the All Blacks with 14 men for the majority of the match.
Joe Moody broke clear to run 23m to open the scoring, followed by another individual effort from Ben Smith, giving the home side a 14-3 lead after 20 minutes. Jordie Barrett, starting at fullback, scored on both sides of halftime to extend the lead to 26-6. France were twice denied tries by the TMO before eventually crossing over right on fulltime. The win secured the Dave Gallaher Trophy with a game in hand.
Read match report
France’s record in Wellington
1961 - All Blacks 5 France 3
1968 - All Blacks 9 France 3
1987 - France 55 Romania 12
1999 - All Blacks 54 France 7
2001 - All Blacks 37 France 12
2007 - All Blacks 61 France 10
2009 - All Blacks 14 France 10
2011 - Tonga 19 France 14
2018 - All Blacks 26 France 13
All Blacks v France line-ups
All Blacks side:
1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor (Vice-Captain), 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Patrick Tuipulotu, 5. Fabian Holland, 6. Tupou Vaa’i, 7. Ardie Savea (c), 8. Christian Lio-Willie, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Beauden Barrett, 11. Rieko Ioane, 12. Jordie Barrett (Vice-Captain), 13. Billy Proctor, 14. Emoni Narawa, 15. Will Jordan.
Replacements: 16. Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17. Ollie Norris, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Samipeni Finau, 20. Du’Plessis Kirifi, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Timoci Tavatavanawai, 23. Damian McKenzie.
France side:
1. Baptiste Erdocio, 2. Gaetan Barlot (c), 3. Georges-Henri Colombe, 4. Joshua Brennan, 5. Matthias Halagahu, 6. Pierre Bochaton, 7. Jacobus Van Tonder, 8. Esteban Abadie, 9. Nolann Le Garrec, 10. Joris Segonds, 11. Emilien Gailleton, 12. Pierre-Louis Barassi, 13. Nicolas Depoortere, 14. Theo Attissogbe, 15. Leo Barré.
Replacements: 16. Pierre Bourgarit, 17. Paul Mallez, 18. Regis Montagne, 19. Romain Taofifenua, 20. Cameron Woki, 21. Bastien Vergnes Taillefer, 22. Thilbault Daubagna, 23. Antoine Hastoy.
Form guide (past five tests)
All Blacks: W, W, L, W, W
France: L, W, W, W, L
The All Blacks have won seven of their last eight since back-to-back defeats in South Africa last year. Scott Robertson’s winning percentage will reach 75% with a victory this week.
All Blacks v France referee
Christophe Ridley of England is in charge of the second test in Wellington.
This will be his first All Blacks test, though Quinn Tupaea, Tupou Vaa’i, Ollie Norris, Samipeni Finau and Billy Proctor may remember him as he was in charge of a New Zealand under-20s defeat to Wales in 2019. Ridley’s only test featuring France was a Six Nations clash last year when they drew with Italy.
All Blacks v France TAB odds
All Blacks: $1.16 Draw: $21 France: $5
All Blacks v France series schedule
Saturday, July 5, All Blacks 31 France 27, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Saturday, July 12, 7.05pm – All Blacks v France, Sky Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, July 19, 7.05pm – All Blacks v France, FMG Stadium, Hamilton
All Blacks v France - how to follow the action
For live commentary of All Blacks v France, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.
Plus James McOnie & Mike Lane of The Alternative Commentary Collective will be providing commentary on their iHeartRadio stream.
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and it will be livestreaming on Sky Sport Now.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
