Fright follows frantic French fightback

OPINION: Second-half syndrome struck the All Blacks yet again as France turned on a typically unpredictable second forty minutes.

There was something very familiar with Sunday morning’s 38-18 win in Paris and the All Blacks’ 54-34 win over the Wallabies in Sydney in August.

Both matches featured the All Blacks turning on a dominant first half, and both saw them fall asleep and allow their opposition back into the game in the second half.

Up 31-5 at the break, the only question about an All Blacks win was how big it would be.

But buoyed by a vocal Paris crowd, the French came storming back. Young halfback Antoine Dupont was impressive, as was first five-eighth Anthony Belleau.

For those that don’t believe in momentum, perhaps there needs to be a careful study of the second half of the test. The French got on a roll and the All Blacks seemed clueless how to halt it.

Fifty-fifty penalty calls were falling in France’s favour, key All Blacks were dropping the ball and the French forwards, who were out on their feet at the end of the first half, found a second wind.

The scrums were an absolute mess, with the advantage seesawing throughout the match. The introduction of Wyatt Crockett coincided with a string of penalties against the All Blacks pack.

Meanwhile, fellow replacement prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi was called out for his off-the-ball play for a second consecutive test, a record he needs to quickly fix quickly before he loses his spot on the pine.

Then there was Sonny Bill Williams. The second five-eighth had a stellar first half, capped off by a perfectly-timed grubber kick to set up a Ryan Crotty-try.

Just as it looked that he was about to prove his doubters wrong, he had a brain snap, deliberately hitting the ball dead in-goal.

Referee Angus Gardner correctly issued a yellow card, but his decision to award a penalty try was more dubious.

The rugby law book states: ‘‘If a player would probably have scored a try but for foul play by an opponent, a penalty try is awarded’’.

But to suggest that Yoann Huget probably would have scored had Williams not tapped the ball

dead seemed a stretch.

First he had to win the ball, then he would have needed to beat the encroaching dead-ball line to plant the ball - and for the record, if Huget had of followed the same trajectory as he did on the play, there was no chance of him placing the ball in the field of play.

Regardless, it was a silly moment for Williams, but should not cloud what was otherwise a strong test.

Luke Romano and Vaea Fifita were both solid in rare starts, but neither had any standout moments

and Fifita was guilty of disappearing for extended periods.

Rieko Ioane and Waisake Naholo were both strong on the wing, with the latter surely doing enough to secure the No 14 jersey for the remaining two tests of the season.

Now it is time for the All Blacks to start showing the killer-instinct we have seen in the past when on track for big scores.

They will have a good shot to prove they can do just that when they take on a French XV in Lyon on Wednesday (NZ time).