All Blacks player ratings: Will Jordan, Cam Roigard with double delight against France
Saturday, 4 July 2026
ANALYSIS: The Dave Rennie era is underway, in shaky fashion, with the All Blacks prevailing 34-32 in their 2026 season-opener against France in Christchurch on Saturday night.
It was far from clinical stuff from the hosts in the opening game of the new Nations Championship, but they will be relieved to just be off to a winning start.
Here are The Post’s All Blacks player ratings from a frenetic game under the roof at One NZ Stadium.
15. Damian McKenzie: Forced into first-five for an early period and directed well, then played his role at the back, though with no massive counter-attack threat. Saved the day speeding back on Jalibert grubber, while mixed in a few errors, including game-high four missed tackles. 6
14. Will Jordan: Best at fullback or best at wing? Whatever the role, the man remains a try-scoring machine, producing a flying finish for the hosts’ first, then bagging the match-winner, too, to now go to 47 and just two behind Doug Howlett all-time for the All Blacks. Finished with a team-high 63 metres. 8
13. Quinn Tupaea: Renowned for his hard carrying but it was his supple soft hands which were to the fore, beautifully setting the ball rolling for Lakai try, and with another nice quick ball for Roigard’s second. 7
12. Jordie Barrett: Very good all-round first outing from the man who has become an absolute key for the men in black. Super-physical on both sides of the ball, and with his triple-threat game gives so many options on attack. 7
11. Caleb Clarke: Beautifully worked move down his flank to put Lakai over, proved keen and eager with his restart chases and aerial assaults, but some defensive frailties surfaced, including getting stepped too easily for France’s first second-half try. 6
10. Ruben Love: Handed the keys and damn near crashed the thing early, unlucky not to even write it off, thanks to a yellow card, and not a red upgrade, for high shot on Max Spring. Warmed back into his work and got running game going, though kicking was a little astray. Knocked over 4/5 off the tee. 6
9. Cam Roigard: Box kicking clearances were on point early, then got scampering from the base, albeit with some wayward passes, then strolled over for easiest of tries on stroke of halftime. Became a key force in the second spell, directing things well, and had a great finish for a second try, and beat a game-high six defenders. 8
8. Ardie Savea: The new captain had plenty on his hands early, but typically then came up with a turnover penalty win, which, combined with his quick tap, led to his side’s first try of the year. Pinged for off-the-ball tackle straight away in second half, but went on to lead his side in carries (13). 7
7. Luke Jacobson: The surprise selection didn’t enjoy the best of starts, copping a couple of penalties at the breakdown, and throwing an awful pass to Clarke. But the Chiefs hard man stayed the course, going the 80 and notching some 22 tackles for just one miss, then threw a beautiful offload for Jordan’s match-winner. 7
6. Peter Lakai: His first first-class game at No 6, and was on hand to score from a brilliant movement down the left touch. Threw a bad pass to de Groot with a try beckoning, while missed two of his eight tackle attempts before making way early in the second stanza. 6
5. Sam Darry: Big chance with several top-liners out and didn’t let an early lineout call to himself that went astray get to him, proving a menace in the thick of the tight stuff and going on to make a game-high 23 tackles in a hard-working display. 7
4. Josh Lord: Plenty of responsibility sent his way without several senior pros, and did his core roles, with clean lineout ball, with a few other nice touches to boot. 6
3. Fletcher Newell: Was pinged at first scrum, but recovered fine, taking a couple of strong carries and making 13 tackles without a miss. 6
2. Codie Taylor: First throw didn’t hit the target with team in great position, but then enjoyed a heap of involvement with plenty of enthusiastic carries, topping team for that, with 10, and metres (39) when he left the park just after the hour. 7
1. Ethan de Groot: Came in after a month without footy and was a beast. Won scrum penalty after Bamba took him down, then did not enjoy a fun time with the tryline after knocking on a tough pass then losing another over the line. Also 13 tackles without a miss. 7
RESERVES
**16. Asafo Aumua **(Taylor, 61min): Injected for the final quarter, though without the sort of barnstorming impact that might have been hoped for. 5
17. Xavier Numia (de Groot, 54min): Thrown into the fire for a debut with game right in the balance and scrummed well, and notched 10 tackles. 6
18. Tyrel Lomax (Newell, 54min): Lost ball on first carry, held up at scrum time, but still searching for his usual high level. 5
19. Jamie Hannah (Lord, 69min): Late call-up for surprise debut due to Patrick Tuipulotu’s tight calf and made a couple of nice carries, albeit throwing a stray offload on one. 5
20. Wallace Sititi (Lakai, 54min): Made some strong carries as he aimed to be the impact man. 6
21. Cortez Ratima (Roigard, 76min): On for the final few minutes and had Jalibert barge over him on the tryline. N/R
22. Billy Proctor (Tupaea, 61min): Made key strong counter-ruck which led to match-winning try. 6
23. Fehi Fineanganofo (Clarke, 69min): Hardly much time to make any impact on debut, but a handy first run. N/R