All Blacks v France Nations Championship test: Line-ups, kickoff times, how to watch – all you need to know
All Blacks v France, Nations Championship test, 7.10pm, Saturday, One New Zealand Stadium
It’s the first test for new coach Dave Rennie, the opening test at the new Christchurch stadium and the first-ever Nations Championship test.
The All Blacks haven’t played a test in Christchurch since a 25-18 defeat to Argentina in 2022, and it’s been almost a decade since their last win in the city, which was a 41-13 victory over the Springboks in 2016. Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea, Codie Taylor and Anton Lienert-Brown are the only members of the current squad to have won a test in Christchurch.
France last played in Christchurch in 2013, a 30-0 defeat. Their only win was back in 1994.
The Six Nations champions will be without eight players who took part in the Top 14 final, including Romain Ntamack, Alexandre Roumat and Peato Mauvaka. They will be free to play against Australia and Japan, however. Antoine Dupont withdrew from the July campaign with a calf injury but would have missed the All Blacks test.
Rennie named his first squad last week, which features four uncapped players in Fehi Fineanganofo, Josh Moorby, Xavier Numia and Anton Segner, while Ardie Savea is the new captain.
The inaugural Nations Championship sees the Southern and Northern Hemispheres square off every two years in a 12-team, two-pool tournament format, featuring the Six Nations, the four Sanzaar nations, Japan and Fiji.
All Blacks v France history
Played - 67
All Blacks won - 51
France won - 15
Draws - 1
All Blacks points scored - 1781
France points scored - 961
France tests in Christchurch
1961 - All Blacks 32 France 3
1968 - All Blacks 12 France 9
1979 - All Blacks 23 France 9
1984 - All Blacks 10 France 9
1986 - All Blacks 18 France 9
1987 - France 20 Scotland 20
1989 - All Blacks 25 France 17
1994 - France 22 All Blacks 8
2003 - All Blacks 31 France 23
2013 - All Blacks 30 France 0
All Blacks v France line-ups
All Blacks team to play France: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Josh Lord, 5. Sam Darry, 6. Peter Lakai, 7. Luke Jacobson, 8. Ardie Savea (c), 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Ruben Love, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Damian McKenzie
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Xavier Numia, 18. Tyrel Lomax, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Wallace Sititi, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Billy Proctor, 23. Fehi Fineanganofo
France squad to play All Blacks:
France: 1. Jefferson Poirot 2. Maxime Lamothe 3. Demba Bamba 4. Hugo Auradou 5. Tom Staniforth 6. Pierre Bochaton 7. Oscar Jegou 8. Marko Gazzotti 9. Maxime Lucu (c) 10. Matthieu Jalibert 11. Theo Attissogbe 12. Yoram Moefana 13. Fabien Brau-Boirie 14. Damian Penaud 15. Max Spring.
Bench: 16. Barnabe Massa 17. Reda Wardi 18. Regis Montagne 19. Mickael Guillard 20. Killian Tixeront 21. Nolann Le Garrec 22. Antoine Hastoy 23. Nicolas Depoortere
Form guide (past five tests)
All Blacks:
France:
Beat England 48-46
Lost to Scotland 50-40
Beat Italy 33-8
Beat Wales 54-12
Beat Ireland 36-14
All Blacks v France referee
Englishman Luke Pearce is in charge of the test with Christophe Ridley and Katsuki Furuse as the assistant referees. Pearce has refereed six All Blacks matches before, including a famous 35-23 victory over the Springboks under Ian Foster. His only All Blacks-France clash was in 2018 at Eden Park when the home side won 52-11.
All Blacks v France TAB odds
All Blacks $1.20, France $4.20
All Blacks 1-12 $2.90
All Blacks 13+ $1.92
Draw $26
France 1-12 $5.75
France +13 $12
All Blacks v France - how to follow the action
For live commentary of All Blacks v France, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB and iHeartRadio.
Plus, 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.
You can also find live updates at nzherald.co.nz.