Shaky All Blacks launch new era by sneaking home against brave French in Christchurch

Saturday, 4 July 2026

At One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch: All Blacks 34 (Will Jordan 8' & 71', Peter Lakai 20', Cam Roigard 40' & 50' tries; Ruben Love 3 con, pen) France 32 (Damian Penaud 2', Antoine Hastoy 47', Théo Attissogbé 58', Matthieu Jalibert 78' tries; Maxime Lucu 2 con, 2 pen) HT: 19-13.

Yellow card: Ruben Love (All Blacks)

A couple of days before this test against France in Christchurch on Saturday night, All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said he didn't care about winning margins.

He just wanted a victory to ensure his first match in charge of the All Blacks wasn't remembered for all the wrong reasons.

Well, Rennie got his wish, but hells bells, it was close.

The All Blacks won the Nations Championship fixture 34-32 - it was an intoxicating cocktail of excellent tries mingled with frustrating errors and defensive lapses - and when the French closed the gap to two points with a converted try to Matthieu Jalibert in the 78th minute it created anxiety and fear in the rugby souls of every All Blacks supporter in New Zealand.

Because, as we all know, the French can strike at the death - anyone remember the 'try from the end of the world in 1994''? - but, eventually, the All Blacks got the job done.

It wasn't convincing, but it was a win.

The All Blacks were made to sweat bullets before the first match at the new One New Zealand Stadium could be deemed a success.

The hosts scored five tries with Ruben Love adding three conversions and a penalty, with the last five-pointer to right wing Will Jordan in the 71st minute supposedly giving them breathing space as they led 34-25.

When Jalibert struck back the narrative almost changed again.

The lead changed several times in the 80 minutes and as Rennie perched himself on the edge of his chair he must have wondered if his players had the fuel to cart themselves over the finish line.

No wonder, then, that captain Ardie Savea, who threw a scare into the All Blacks camp when he suffered a painful knock to the groin during the warm-up, must have felt as if several heavy anvils had been lifted from his shoulders when referee Luke Pearce blew the final whistle.

Rennie, too, would have wheezed a sigh of relief.

The All Blacks rarely make a fast start to their seasons under new coaches - predecessor Scott Robertson watched the team squeak home by a single point against the English in Dunedin in 2024 and Ian Foster drew with the Rennie-coached Wallabies in Wellington in 2020 - and this was no different.

The French made a thunderous start, and in doing so smashed the All Blacks' hopes of delivering the first significant uppercut of the match.

Les Bleus revved-up their slick backline from a quick lineout success to push downfield and after a couple of phases, fullback Damian Penaud must have felt like whistling a happy tune when he glided into a gaping hole in the All Blacks' defensive line.

Just two minutes had lapsed and Rennie must have been wondering what he signed up for. He expected anxious moments, but surely not so early in the new job.

Rennie had barely had time to get his paraphernalia in order in his coaching cockpit and the All Blacks were not just trailing 7-0, they were also a man down: Love was yellow carded for a high tackle on French fullback Max Spring during the build-up to Penaud's five-pointer, and things were looking messy for the hosts.

Returning to Manawatu to cut firewood instead of re-entering the furnace of international rugby may have seemed much more appealing for Rennie when the All Blacks lost an attacking lineout a few minutes later, but when they started to click their attacking intent and skill paid dividends.

It started with Savea declining the chance to take an easy three points. A quick penalty tap resulted in him using his body as a battering ram to edge towards the tryline and a prompt recycle of the ball from the breakdown resulted in Jordan scoring in the corner.

The relief and excitement was evident not just in the faces of the All Blacks players, but the many supporters in the 30,000-strong crowd under the roof.

There were more anxious moments to come - penalties against prop Ethan de Groot and midfielder Quinn Tupaea for high tackles were gratefully accepted by the visitors - but amid the ill-discipline and spilled passes, there were flashes of brilliance.

While French skipper Maxime Lucu was content to keep his side's score rolling over with a couple of penalties, the All Blacks were prepared to be ambitious. Few tries scored this year will be as spectacular as that scored by loose forward Peter Lakai, who finished off a movement that began 75m downfield from a scrum.

Halfback Cam Roigard scored tries either side of halftime, but French finishers Antoine Hastoy and Théo Attissogbé kept the visitors in the contest and if Lucu had converted the latter's try in the 58th minute the men in blue would have regained the lead.

Erratic kicking stung the All Blacks and they were also fortunate a try to Fabien Brau-Boirie was disallowed because Spring knocked the ball forward during the build-up when the ball pinged off Love's head.

Then things started to go a bit bonkers. It was tit for tat right until the final whistle.