Kiwis put the squeeze on France
By Ben Blackmore
Last Updated: 01/01/70 1:00am
New Zealand displayed their superiority over France for the second time in as many weeks.
International Test match, France v New Zealand, Stade de France, Saturday November 18, 8pm
New Zealand confirmed their position as the number one team in world rugby by beating France 23-11 at the Stade de France.
Having crushed Les Bleus 47-3 in Lyon last week, the All Blacks handed out another clinical lesson to the Six Nations champions, with Dan Carter instrumental.
In a fixture that could very well have been the dress rehearsal for next year's World Cup final, France at least showed they could live with their Southern Hemisphere rivals, but still they came off a distant second best to an irrepressible All Black attack.
Joe Rokocoko and Ma'a Nonu converted just two of many Carter-inspired Kiwi breaks, while Cedric Heymans grabbed his country a deserved score of their own.
Despite last week's hammering, France opted to persist with the experiment of Damien Traille at fly-half, and the Biarritz man was at the centre of everything early on.
Starting in nervous fashion - Traille committed the error from which New Zealand opened the scoring. Collecting the ball on halfway, his kick was charged down by opposite number Carter, allowing the Kiwis to force the penalty due to hands in at the ruck.
However, fortunes immediately changed for the natural inside-centre, who's testing Gary Owen led to Heymans' opening try thanks to a critical error in judgment under the high ball from Leon MacDonald.
The conversion was missed by Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, but Heymans' score had already galvanised the home crowd, who remained in positive mood despite seeing their side quickly fall behind again due to Carter's second penalty of the contest.
Referee Chris White was also endearing himself to the local Parisians in the opening quarter, failing to call several decidedly crooked-looking French line-outs, while hooker Raphael Ibanez earned similar gratification with a big hit on Byron Kelleher.
New Zealand were undoubtedly the superior with ball-in-hand though, and in Carter they have a puppeteer of the very highest order.
The Canterbury number 10 twice threatened to orchestrate innovative Kiwi scores, first by fizzing a long pass out to Mils Muliaina, whose offload was spilled by MacDonald, and then Carter made a solo blindside break of his own that was halted 10 yards from the French whitewash.
An All Black try seemed inevitable as they forced the home defence into one last ditch tackle after another, but Graham Henry's men were forced to settle for a third penalty as France clung to the heels of Nonu and co.
The breakthrough finally arrived on the stroke of half-time and with France in possession of the football, which is often when New Zealand are most potent.
Turn-over ball was capitalised on by MacDonald, who fed the supporting Richie McCaw, before Rokocoko finally went over after the ball had moved through the hands of Rodney So'oialo, Sitiveni Sivivatu and Carter in an exhilarating All Blacks try.
France went into the break disappointed to be facing a 16-5 deficit, yet the score was a tribute to a splendid rearguard effort.
To keep it up for another 40 minutes was a tall ask, and they lasted just 10 as Carter orchestrated another well-crafted move - this time from the base of the ruck.
Receiving the ball 10 yards out, he drifted left and then flipped out the reverse pass to Nonu who needs no second invitations from there.
France quickly responded with a penalty from replacement Dimitri Yachvili for 23-8, before throwing on fresh legs in the form of industrious front row Dimitri Szarzewski and Sylvain Marconnet.
Bernard Laporte's intervention seemed to do the job as Les Bleus regained some parity in the middle of the field, Pepito Elhorga becoming a growing influence.
However, they could not make any headway against a fearsome black wall that settled into its trenches as if coach Henry had planned a second half defensive practice.
Yachvili added three more points towards the end and Aurilien Rougerie got the French public off their seats one last time with a super 40-yard burst, but there could be no doubting which side looks likely to lift the World Cup in the same stadium in a year's time.
