We had let ourselves be carried away, despite ourselves, by this melody played at the ends of the earth and which wanted the All Blacks to no longer have the fuel they once had, to mourn their rugby of yesteryear and, taken one by one, would ultimately have a hard time making a place for themselves in the Top 14.
All of that was obviously a load of bulls***, a decoy, a trap, a filthy siren song and this Saturday, in this stadium as round as a ball and under the gusts of Wellington, the vice-world champions were duly annoyed and, like a punching bag, thought that this French team would ultimately do the job.
Because in the New Zealand capital, the Blues were spanked, their asses empty, by a team seeking revenge and having partially erased the errors of the first test.
‘All Blacks punish France’
Christy Doran, the Roar
Well, that didn’t take long for a response.
A week after scraping home against Les Bleus to make a mockery of the complaints over Fabien Galthie’s next generation of stars, the All Blacks have punished France on Saturday night in Wellington, winning 43-17.
Scott Robertson’s side delivered a commanding first-half performance to lead 29-3, before both sides scored two converted tries in the second half as France ensured they left the Cake Tin with something to be encouraged by.
But the victory ensured the All Blacks secured the Dave Gallaher Cup for the first time in seven years, after the French had won the three previous encounters before landing on New Zealand shores.
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After delivering a scrappy, error-ridden performance in Dunedin, where the All Blacks were caught on the hop by a sprightly French side and had three tries overturned by the TMO, Robertson’s side were much more clinical in their second test of the year.
‘All Blacks were never threatened’
Daniel Gilhooly, AFP
New Zealand crushed an understrength France 43-17 in the second Test in Wellington on Saturday, scoring six tries to clinch the three-match series.
The All Blacks bounced back from a nervous 31-27 win in the first test in Dunedin with a commanding performance against an inexperienced French side, who made 10 changes to their starting line-up.
Led by a dominant forward display, the home side were more clinical in converting scoring positions into points in Wellington, having had three tries disallowed a week earlier.
Up 29-3 at halftime, the All Blacks were never threatened, securing a 10th straight win over France on home soil.
All Blacks ‘full value’
David Skippers, PlanetRugby
The All Blacks delivered a much improved performance as they clinched an emphatic 43-17 triumph against France in their mid-year international in Wellington on Saturday.
After notching a narrow victory over Les Bleus in Dunedin last week, there was pressure on All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and his troops but they were full value for this series-clinching win as they dominated for long periods and were more clinical in their execution.
The All Blacks eventually outscored their visitors by six tries to two, with Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea, Codie Taylor, Tupou Vaa’i, Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane all crossing the whitewash.
Their other points came via four conversions and a penalty from Beauden Barrett while Jordie Barrett also succeeded with a two-pointer off the kicking tee.
For France, Léo Barré and Joshua Brennan scored tries while Nolann Le Garrec added a conversion and a penalty while Antoine Hastoy also converted a five-pointer.
All Blacks ‘hit their stride’
Nick Mulvenney, Reuters
New Zealand hit their stride with a much improved performance to beat France 43-17 in the second test on Saturday, running in six tries to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson had called for better execution after the tight 31-27 win in the first test in Dunedin last weekend and his players delivered, to sew up the series with next week’s Hamilton clash to spare.
Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea, Codie Taylor and Tupou Vaa’i all crossed to give the hosts a 29-3 halftime lead, before Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane added two more tries after the break.
Six Nations champions France, who travelled south without most of their first-choice players, never got going until the second half and had to settle for tries from Leo Barre and Joshua Brennan after the break.
All Blacks banish Dunedin demons
Liam Napier, NZ Herald
That’s more like it.
The All Blacks banished last week’s shaky first-test victory to expose a decidedly inexperienced French side with a largely clinical performance to lock away their first silverware of the season, the Dave Gallaher trophy, in Wellington.
This week, the All Blacks finished what they started. Their intent to play fast, with quick lineouts, taps and offloads, was evident from from start to finish. But so, too, did this performance showcase their multiple threats – from the maul to Beauden Barrett’s boot.
Four first-half tries put this contest to bed but of all their positive progressions, Tupou Vaa’i’s strike presented a snapshot of the All Blacks’ lethal attacking potential.
The offloads, the lineout set move that laid on Cam Roigard’s all-too-easy opening try and Rieko Ioane scoring in the corner were obvious highlights but the All Blacks will be pleased to cash in twice – through Savea and Codie Taylor – from their maul.
This approach reflected the success they had by being far more direct than last week – punching through the heart of the French defence to create space elsewhere and allow their backs to flourish.