The second half belonged to France, however, and not even a late flurry of All Blacks attacks could dampen the Parisian party. The one-point defeat ended the All Blacks’ five-match winning streak and put an end to their momentum-building second half of the test season that had started on shaky ground. As an embarrassing beating seemed on the cards, Les Bleus slowed the pace down, defended thoroughly and once again became the clinical side who started last year’s World Cup as favourites, showing brilliance and composure when it mattered. The respective kickers did trade efforts off the tee in the latter stages, but France managed to maintain that one-point gap. Having laid the platform for another memorable victory discipline, handling issues and the gradual deterioration of ruck presentation from the All Blacks handed France the chance to recover.

Source: New Zealand Herald November 17, 2024 00:51 UTC