France v All Blacks player ratings: The Frenchmen who impressed most against Dave Rennie’s men

How the French players rated in their 34-32 defeat to the All Blacks in Christchurch.

1. Jefferson Poirot – 5

Head-down operator took route-one option with ball in hand. French props seldom look like inclined to pass.

2. Maxime Lamothe – 6

Shonky lineout work in 15th minute found Sam Darry. Worked a clever lineout hustle in 34th minute with a short-throw, but blew it by over-running Maxime Lucu’s return pass. Defensive work closed down the hosts and forced errors, like Jordie Barrett’s spill in the 35th minute.

3. Demba Bamba – 4

Was a little leaden footed around the park in return to starting line-up.

4. Hugo Auradou – 6

Attacked the All Blacks lineout throw and got into lots of short-haul ball carrying. Good hands in lead up to Theo Attissogbe’s try for a young lock who was snappy enough to get about the park.

5. Tom Staniforth – 5

Australian-born big unit put in a 56-minute shift of heavy toil and tackling in a pack that couldn’t get an edge over the All Blacks.

6. Pierre Bochaton – 5

Had a good crack at attacking the All Blacks throw and piled into breakdowns with grunt. Departed in 34th minute.

7. Oscar Jegou – 6

Stole an early All Blacks throw and got his mitts on the ball in plenty of broken-play action. His impact on the high-tempo match increased as the night went on, and he ran right to the final whistle.

8. Marko Gazzotti – 5

Knocked about in tight stuff as he made 17 tackles, the most of any Frenchman. Coaches might have wanted to see one of the loosies spark something more with ball in hand.

9. Maxime Lucu (c) – 7

Long, busy night for French skipper. Darted in for a rush-defence hit on Quinn Tupaea in 24th minute that triggered four minutes of sustained pressure ending with a three-pointer. Was sometimes flustered in scrambling defence, and (along with others) was AWOL when Cam Roigard scored in the 39th-minute try.

10. Matthieu Jalibert – 8

Kept his men going forward with a lot of nice passing, including a nice touch to put Hastoy over the line. Smart punt from a penalty in the 53rd minute should have brought a crucial try. He tried to milk a penalty with an Mbappe-worthy dive after running into Tyrel Lomax’s shoulder, but moment later bagged a richly deserved 77th-minute try.

11. Theo Attissogbe – 8

Impressed with gas and vision here in 2025, but had few chances in first 40 minutes. Went looking for action in the second and grew into the game as French seized momentum. He’s at his best in open space. Smartly read that gnarly bounce from a Damien McKenzie kick-pass beautifully to spark the passage that led to Hastoy’s try and deserved his own in the 59th minute.

12. Yoram Moefana – 5

Loads of important, tough defensive work in head-to-head clashes.

13. Fabien Brau-Boirie – 7

Lots of good handling as France rose into the game in second half. But there was no way through the All Blacks midfield wall. Should have scored in 52nd minute and was unlucky a minute later when a knock on saw his try disallowed. Smart work to put Attissogbe away in 58th minute.

14. Damian Penaud – 7

This touring French team can’t be all that bad when they field their nation’s all-time record try scorer. Lovely interplay with fullback Max Spring a few seconds into the match was followed by an open-door dart to the tryline a moment later. The Gallic Will Jordan was classy in all he did. Shame that he missed the second half.

15. Max Spring – 6

Half-Kiwi fullback bagged his first cap since 2022 and was gone for an HIA check after wearing Ruben Love’s shoulder in his face in early clash. Bounced back and shifted to the wing later, staying busy throughout.

Bench:

16. Barnabe Massa – 5

Debutant got thrown into the mixer against big dogs and can be proud of his output on a night when both sides stayed accurate until the end.

17. Reda Wardi – 5

La Rochelle big unit looks like he knows his way around a protein shake. Joined in the late scramble with gusto.

18. Regis Montagne – 4

The 132kg replacement was the biggest man on the park. Struggled to keep pace in his 32-minute stint, missing two of the four tackles he attempted and generally being a beat behind the quick-thinking halves of both teams.

19. Mickael Guillard – 5

Got stuck in early when on as an injury sub in 34th minute.

20. Killian Tixeront – 5

On for a blast in the final quarter as the pace started to tell on tiring forwards. Busy tackling efforts.

21. Nolann Le Garrec – 3

Got four unproductive minutes at the end.

22. Antoine Hastoy – 3

On early as a head-check replacement for Spring and his first act was to unwisely leave the door open for Will Jordan to run in the All Blacks’ opener. Should have at least put his body into Peter Lakai when the loosie worked a nice one-two with Caleb Clarke before running in the All Blacks’ second try. Finished a smart move to score in 46th minute.

23. Nicolas Depoortere – 4

Lost the ball in a tangle that led to the All Blacks’ break that sparked Jordan’s second try.