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RNZ News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
‘We were ruthless': How the All Blacks booted their way to victory
Analysis - While the highlight reels will be all about offloads, the All Blacks' 43-17 win was just as much about a masterful control of field position. Scott Robertson was certainly happy to highlight the kicking game in the post-match press conference, saying that his side had learned their lessons from last weekend's much tighter encounter in Dunedin. "Yeah, we got a bit more of a balance," he said. "We played our fullback in the middle of the field so we could put them in the corner, turn them around and put pressure on their set piece. The set piece went great again, that creates opportunities somewhere else when we turn them around and shut down their defensive shape." Codie Taylor scores against France. Photo: Kerry Marshall / It was noticeable early on that Beauden Barrett and Cam Roigard weren't content to simply hoof the ball skyward, although contestable kicking still played a big role. Robertson said that it wasn't just about going up and catching the ball either, with the sometimes messy situation after it bounced very much part of the plan. "They (France) won everything in the first eight or so bounces of the ball last week," he said. "So we were clear on our effort areas. We had to be better as a team and it showed, when the ball bounced we were on a few more than them and it made a massive difference." Barrett, who also continued his good placekicking form with four conversions and a penalty, echoed his coach's sentiments. "There's been a bit of chat around the high ball, but it's winning the scraps around it," he said. Beauden Barrett. Photo: Kerry Marshall / "Sometimes players don't actually go for the ball, they go for a tap back and create a mess, a bit of chaos. So we were working hard on that during the week. It's really important because we didn't win many of those battles last weekend." Meanwhile, the message by stand in captain Ardie Savea before the game to "let the shackles off and be free" certainly inspired some attacking cohesion. Tupou Vaa'i finished off the best try of the night, with the lead-up work featuring four offloads in the tackle. "We spoke during the week about wanting to front up," said Savea. "I think the boys did really well tonight, we were ruthless in most parts of the game." Jordie Barrett is tackled heavily against France. Photo: Kerry Marshall / Robertson was pleased his side trusted themselves on attack, after several key chances went begging last weekend. "It was good to see the referee making the calls and the flow of the game - keeping it fast…we were making sure we were trusting our skill set," he said. It's fair to say this test played out the way many had presumed this series would, after French coach Fabien Galthié overhauled his side from Dunedin. However it is telling that his main kicking weapons - Nolann Le Garrec and Joris Segonds - retained their inside back positions but weren't allowed anywhere near the sort of territorial influence they had in the first test. While the win clinched the Dave Gallaher Cup for the All Blacks, the final test in Hamilton next weekend is an interesting one. Galthié is now able to put together his best side to try and get one back. "This is a series, we might have one two but the third is just as important to us." Asked what he thought whether Galthié would be treating this as a major test match, Robertson had an even shorter answer: "He will now."
France 24
12-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Robertson hails 'ruthless' All Blacks after France crushed 43-17
New Zealand scored six tries, bouncing back from a nervous 31-27 win in the first Test in Dunedin. Led by a dominant forward display, the home team cast aside an inexperienced French side who made 10 changes to their starting line-up. The All Blacks were more clinical in converting scoring positions into points, having had three tries disallowed a week earlier. Robertson said he had seen improvements in all facets. "I thought we were ruthless in most parts of the game and allowed our backs to finish things off," Robertson said. "It was good to see the referee making the calls and the flow of the game, keep it fast, and yeah, there was a lot of polish." While the All Blacks made two injury-enforced changes from the opening Test, French coach Fabien Galthie removed a core of experienced players to name a starting side with just 60 Test caps between them. Four starting French forwards were making their debuts and it showed as the home side dominated the breakdown and lineout in particular, giving a solid platform for standout scrum-half Cam Roigard to control the contest. 'Bring fire' Up 29-3 at half-time, the All Blacks were never threatened, securing a 10th straight win over France on home soil. An early New Zealand penalty goal by fly-half Beauden Barrett was followed by three tries that all stemmed directly from lineouts -- the first to Roigard, who ran 30 metres untouched after a trick move that fooled the defence. France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec scored his team's only points of the half with a penalty before New Zealand pulled clear with successive tries from lineout drives to flanker Ardie Savea and hooker Codie Taylor. Savea, standing in as captain in place of the injured Scott Barrett, gave a dominant display. "The boys fronted up to get the W (win)," said Savea. "This week we talked about our defence. We wanted to bring fire there and I think we did that in most parts of the game." A former world player of the year, Savea instigated a brilliant team try before the interval. His break from 60 metres out sparked a flowing move which ended with flanker Tupou Vaa'i scoring under the crossbar. The half was marred by a yellow card offence from each side -- to Beauden Barrett for a deliberate knock-on and debutant French lock Joshua Brennan for a lifting tackle. France made six substitutions early in the second half and the refreshed side created a try for fullback Leo Barre. All Blacks fullback Will Jordan responded for the hosts with his 41st try in 43 Tests before wing Rieko Ioane powered across in the left corner. Brennan had the final say for France, barging over for their second try. Galthie was disappointed with the scoreline but pleased his team improved considerably in the second half, which was encouraging ahead of next Saturday's third Test in Hamilton. "It's a difficult evening for us but I'd also like to congratulate the players," he said. © 2025 AFP
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Improved All Blacks dominate France in Wellington to win series
New Zealand hit their stride with a much improved performance to beat France 43-17 in the second test on Saturday, running in six tries to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. All Blacks coach Scott Robertson had called for better execution after the tight 31-27 win in the first test in Dunedin last weekend and his players delivered to sew up the series with next week's Hamilton clash to spare. Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea, Codie Taylor and Tupou Vaa'i all crossed to give the hosts a 29-3 halftime lead before Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane added two more tries after the break. Six Nations champions France, who travelled south without most of their first-choice players, never got going until the second half and had to settle for tries from Leo Barre and Irish-born Joshua Brennan, son of former Irish international Trevor, after the break. "We wanted to bring fire in our defence and I thought we did that in most parts of the game," said captain Savea, whose 29th test five-pointer saw him overtake Richie McCaw as New Zealand's most prolific try-scoring forward. "Still, credit to the French, they never give up, they're always there. So I'm proud of our boys for sticking it in and just doing a good job tonight." "Obviously, really disappointed with the score. We wanted to prove much more today," said France winger Emilien Gailleton. "But we're going to recover and come back for next week. We want to finish our season with a good performance." Reuters
France 24
12-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
All Blacks score six tries to hammer under-strength France
The All Blacks bounced back from a nervous 31-27 win in the first Test in Dunedin with a commanding performance against an inexperienced French side who made 10 changes to their starting line-up. Led by a dominant forward display, the home side were more clinical in converting scoring positions into points in Wellington, having had three tries disallowed a week earlier. While the All Blacks made two injury-enforced changes from the first Test, French coach Fabien Galthie removed a core of experienced players to name a starting side with just 60 Test caps between them. Four starting French forwards were making their debuts and it showed as the home side dominated the breakdown and lineout in particular, giving a solid platform for standout scrum-half Cam Roigard to control the contest. Up 29-3 at half-time, the All Blacks were never threatened, securing a 10th straight win over France on home soil. An early New Zealand penalty goal by fly-half Beauden Barrett was followed by three tries that all stemmed directly from lineouts -- the first to Roigard, who ran 30 metres untouched after a trick move that fooled the defence. France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec scored his team's only points of the half with a penalty before the home side pulled clear with successive tries from lineout drives to flanker Ardie Savea and hooker Codie Taylor. 'Bring fire' Savea, standing in as captain in place of the injured Scott Barrett, gave a dominant display. "The boys fronted up to get the W (win)," said Savea. "This week we talked about our defence. We wanted to bring fire there and I think we did that in most parts of the game." A former world player of the year, Savea instigated a brilliant team try before the interval. His break from 60 metres out sparked a flowing move which ended with flanker Tupou Vaa'i scoring under the crossbar. The half was marred by a yellow card offence from each side -- to Beauden Barrett for a deliberate knock-on and debut French lock Joshua Brennan for a lifting tackle. France made six substitutions early in the second half and the refreshed side created a try for fullback Leo Barre. "Credit to the French, you know they never give up, they're always there," Savea said. "I'm proud of our boys for just digging in and doing a good job tonight." All Blacks fullback Will Jordan responded for the hosts with his 41st try in 43 Tests before wing Rieko Ioane powered across in the left corner. Brennan had the final say for France, barging over for their second try. "Obviously we're really disappointed with the score." said France wing Emilien Gailleton. "We wanted to prove much more today. Really disappointed but we're going to recover and come back much better next week. "We want to finish our season with a good performance. The third Test is in Hamilton next Saturday. © 2025 AFP
The Star
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Rugby-Improved All Blacks run in six tries to beat France in second test
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand hit their stride with a much improved performance to beat France 43-17 in the second test on Saturday, running in six tries to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. All Blacks coach Scott Robertson had called for better execution after the tight 31-27 win in the first test in Dunedin last weekend and his players delivered to sew up the series with next week's Hamilton clash to spare. Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea, Codie Taylor and Tupou Vaa'i all crossed to give the hosts a 29-3 halftime lead before Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane added two more tries after the break. Six Nations champions France, who travelled south without most of their first-choice players, never got going until the second half and had to settle for tries from Leo Barre and Joshua Brennan after the break. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Tom Hogue)
