Following the All Blacks\u2019 31-27 win over France in their mid-year international at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday, Planet Rugby picks out five takeaways from the thrilling action.<\/b><\/p>\n
The top line<\/p>\n
Although the All Blacks<\/a> were victorious, they had to dig deep for this result as the visitors were competitive for long periods and, as the scoreline suggests, could easily have won this Test.<\/p>\n Much was said and written in the build-up to this game of Les Bleus<\/a> head coach Fabien Galthie\u2019s decision to bring an understrength team to New Zealand but they can hold their heads high as they asked plenty of questions of the All Blacks.<\/p>\n And it was the visitors who held a slight edge during the early stages. After Joris Segonds gave France the lead courtesy of a well-taken penalty, they extended their lead when Mickael Guillard crossed for the opening try which was converted by Nolann Le Garrec.<\/p>\n The home side did not panic though and struck back with five-pointers from Will Jordan and Tupou Vaa\u2019i, which were both converted by Beauden Barrett, before Le Garrec narrowed the game to a point when he added a penalty in the 33rd minute.<\/p>\n New Zealand would finish the half stronger though when Jordie Barrett also dotted down and the conversion from his brother, Beauden, meant the home side held a 21-13 lead at half-time.<\/p>\n France drew first blood after the interval when Gabin Villiere crossed for a try and Le Garrec\u2019s conversion meant they were trailing by one point again.<\/p>\n However, Jordan got over for his second five-pointer and fly-half Barrett\u2019s conversion extended the All Blacks\u2019 lead again but a Cameron Wok in the 50th minute, which was also converted by Le Garrec, meant New Zealand were leading 28-27.<\/p>\n The final half-hour was a tense affair as both sides went in search of the victory and the All Blacks eventually achieved that when fly-half Barrett slotted a penalty in the 74th minute.<\/p>\n Rusty overall performance from the All Blacks<\/p>\n Although Les Bleus deserve plenty of credit for coming to the fore with an outstanding overall performance, this was the All Blacks\u2019 first Test of the season and it showed that they are still far from the finished article.<\/p>\n There were strong performances from the likes of flankers Ardie Savea and Tupou Vaa\u2019i in the forward exchanges as they took the fight to their opponents throughout the game.<\/p>\n Amongst the backs, Will Jordan was the shining light but more on him later, while the likes of the Barrett brothers \u2013 Beauden and Jordie \u2013 Cam Roigard and Damian McKenzie also delivered solid performances.<\/p>\n There were two debutants in the All Blacks starting line-up and while Fabian Holland gave a good account of himself and was on the field for the entire match, Christian Lio-Willie seemed to struggle with the pace and intensity of this match.<\/p>\n Lio-Willie was replaced by another newbie in Du\u2019Plessis Kirifi early in the second half and he was soon in the thick of the action, putting his body on the line in defence and at the breakdowns.<\/p>\n Kirifi\u2019s introduction meant Savea shifted to number eight and they worked well in tandem when France were chasing the game.<\/p>\n A worrying trend in the All Blacks game in 2024 was their inability to score points in the final quarter of several of their matches and although they did manage to do that in this game, it was only a late penalty from Beauden Barrett which spared their blushes against this understrength France side.<\/p>\n In the end, they had to dig deep for this win, especially in the second half \u2013 which France won 14-10 \u2013 and there\u2019s plenty of homework for head coach Scott Robertson ahead of the second Test in Wellington next week.<\/p>\n All Blacks player ratings: \u2018Hit-and-miss\u2019 Rieko Ioane as \u2018outrageous\u2019 Will Jordan shines in shaky win<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Will Jordan\u2019s fine form continues<\/p>\n After starting at full-back, the Crusaders star was shifted to the right wing as early as the opening minute with Damian McKenzie coming on as a replacement for the injured Sevu Reece.<\/p>\n