France simply weren’t that good, and the All Blacks weren’t flash either
Damian McKenzie will have to get used to being tackled again this weekend, because the Highlanders defence won’t open up like the Red Sea in the way the French did.
The tourists were lauded by Steve Hansen as the best defensive side in the world before they arrived on these shores.
Frankly, the All Blacks coach could have been taken on by the Commerce Commission for making misleading claims.
The French, even at full strength and with a spring in their step, are ranked No 8 in the world. But by the time the French limped into Dunedin just one of the starting XV which beat England in March would run onto the field.
The French were already toast, so hold your claims about All Blacks advances during June – we simply don’t know.
It is true that France made improvements during the Six Nations but they were coming off a low base. The talk in France is of a decent shot at the 2023 World Cup, not the coming one.
In fact, they are an absolute shadow of the last French team to play here, in 2011.
Where is the next William Servat, the big-scrummaging hooker who caused the All Blacks so much trouble in the 2011 World Cup final?
The new Julien Bonnaire, the aerial specialist who would have sorted out France’s awful lineout? Or his hardman back-row colleague Imanol Harinordoquy?
And as for Thierry Dusautoir – with all due respect, there isn’t a current Frenchman in the same
arrondissement as Richie McCaw’s great rival.
Among the backs young No 10 Anthony Belleau showed something but it is only Wesley Fofana who would crack a list of the world’s top 30.
No wonder the French played with a sense of fatalism.
They were on the wrong end of some refereeing decisions but for some
players the injustices looked like an excuse to roll over rather than rage at the unfairness of it all.
When Paul Gabrillagues was shown the yellow card in the first test with the scores at 11-11 little did we know that the test series had just finished.
In the face of adversity the French wilted. It was only a poor All Blacks performance in the second test that prevented the score reaching 50. And then there is the fatigue factor. While New Zealanders agonise over the All Blacks’ energy levels – justifiably – in November, weariness barely rates a mention when touring sides come here at the end of their seasons.
Indeed, the All Blacks were so concerned about tiredness last year they even devised a strategy to counter it.
France had a strategy too – they left some of their best players at home, including captain Guilhem Guirado.
And boy were they tired. It was prop Uini Atonio who made the bad read that opened up the hole for McKenzie to scoot through for his second try in Dunedin. The big man is not the nimblest in any case but that error had mental exhaustion written all over it.
It was a repeat of the Welsh series of 2016, when the All Blacks put 46 on the tourists in Dunedin.
The All Blacks, in patches, looked electric. Of course they do with their lineup of talent.
There is no better sight in world rugby than All Blacks wing Rieko Ioane in full flight, while Waisake Naholo had an under-rated game on the opposite wing.
But as we move into the Rugby Championship, against sides that won’t go away, this French series will remain relevant only for the angst it caused at the way the game is officiated.
The All Blacks, in patches, looked electric. Of course they do with their lineup of talent.