The All Blacks defeated France 43-17 in Wellington, with standout performances from Ardie Savea and Patrick Tuipulotu.
Scott Robertson’s team showcased high-speed, innovative rugby, highlighted by Cam Roigard’s cheeky 14th-minute try.
All tickets are sold out for the final test in Hamilton, with expectations of a clean sweep.
The All Blacks’ 43-17 demolition of France in Wellington on Saturday night wasn’t so much a game of two halves as a game of four teams.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson had the luxury at halftime, with his team ahead 29-3 and playing some brilliant rugby, of shufflingthrough his squad to make sure everyone had match time.
Les Bleus coach Fabien Galthié’s weird call to make 10 changes from the French side that had played so well in Dunedin a week ago proved to be a disaster, so the French bench was soon cleared in the second spell to try to claw something back.
With the All Blacks taking a while to settle their new combinations, France managed to avoid complete humiliation. But it would still be astounding if the All Blacks didn’t clean-sweep the series in Hamilton next Saturday.
Did we see the future?
It’s too early to be sure, but hopefully we got a preview of the sort of high-speed, quick-thinking rugby the All Blacks will play this year under coach Robertson. As a prime example, Tupou Vaa’i’s try in the 36th minute was the result of the sort of brilliant attacking play sadly lacking in too many of the test matches played around the world.
There’s a battle going on internationally for the soul of the game. There was World Cup success for South Africa in 2023 with a team of muscular giants. In the contest between a side of weightlifters and a team of aerobically fit athletes, the spectacle great rugby can be will always be provided by the fitter, more daring players.
It was interesting, and heartening, to see Sir Wayne Smith in the New Zealand coaches’ box in Wellington. Bet the farm that he’s encouraging what he’s often described as our “natural rugby DNA”, an adventurous style where rush defences are bemused by speed of foot and decision-making.
Tupou Vaa’i celebrates after scoring against France in Wellington. Photo / Photosport
A round of applause to all
Cam Roigard’s 14th-minute try came from one of the cheekiest and most perfectly executed moves I’ve ever seen in a test match. The ball, it seemed, was going to be run from the back of the New Zealand lineout. No 8 Christian Lio-Willie was sprinting furiously towards the middle of the field, his body hunched over the ball he was carrying. Except he wasn’t. There was no ball. At the front of the lineout, captain Ardie Savea was smuggling it to Roigard. The gifted halfback flew 30m to the tryline.
It was at once almost laugh-out-loud funny and a classic example of out-of-the-box thinking being made real by players with faith in themselves, no doubt boosted by numerous rehearsals at private training sessions.
Men of the match
The old saying, “cometh the hour, cometh the man”, could hardly have applied more than to Ardie Savea and Patrick Tuipulotu. Savea was captaining the All Blacks because of a training injury to Scott Barrett, and Tuipulotu was playing for the same reason. To say Tuipulotu’s return to the side was seamless actually understates how much at home he looked in the lineouts, or the physical presence he brought to his general play.
And on the topic of physicality, it’s extraordinary how Savea – after a season of Super Rugby Pacific in which he gave so much week after week leading Moana Pasifika – has such massive reserves of mental and physical strength that he played in Wellington like a man in the exuberant first stages of a career.
Dreams can come true
It’s little wonder some tears rolled down the face of Timoci Tavatavanawai during the national anthem in Wellington. The second-eldest in a family of nine in Fiji, the powerhouse midfielder is in rugby for a lot more than himself. His father died during the Covid epidemic and Tavatavanawai has always made it clear what drives his career. “The main motive for me when I play footy is to support my little siblings.”
In February, I wrote that “Tavatavanawai offers the solidity, and many of the skills another man who went from wing to second-five, Ma’a Nonu, did in the 2011 and 2015 World Cup-winning All Black teams”. After his debut in black, I see no reason to change that opinion.
Timoci Tavatavanawai lifts the Dave Gallaher Trophy. Photo / Photosport
Buying early was wise
All tickets are sold out for the third and final test in Hamilton. It looks now like a very sensible decision to get in early. Despite the lopsided nature of the Wellington test, I’ll say yet again: “This is the French we’re playing.” Which means the possibilities are much greater than against a more predictable outfit. Who knows?
Coach Galthié may even start the best team he can put on the paddock. And if they’re massacred by the All Blacks, at least there will be some spectacular tries.
Sadly, the decision has been made by World Rugby (presumably because we’re heading towards a World Cup in 2027) that the aim of refereeing test matches is now not to try to present a great spectacle, but to make sure that every tiny “i” is dotted and every minuscule “t” is crossed.
Speaking to an overseas contact in the belly of the refereeing beast, I’m told post-test reviews this year have been brutal. Basically we can expect more referrals to television match officials (TMOs), because it’s been made clear to test referees that the slightest technical mistake will cost them future appointments. No particular country has been mentioned by name but the free-flowing style the All Blacks would like to be playing will obviously suffer from the official demands for nit-picking officiating.
On the other hand
To end on a positive note, there were plenty of signs in the Black Ferns’ 37-12 crushing of Australia in Wellington that suggest we will see real fireworks from the team at the Women’s Rugby World Cup when it starts in August in England. The attitude of the Ferns looks as daring as it did during that wonderful October in 2022 when they won not only the Cup but the hearts and minds of every Kiwi rugby lover.
Phil Gifford is a Contributing Sports Writer for NZME. He is one of the most-respected voices in New Zealand sports journalism.
For live commentary of this weekend’s All Blacks v France test, go to GOLD SPORT or iHeartRadio.
