HOW THE ABs RATED
Damian McKenzie 6.5: Mixed bag. Was one of a few players guilty of putting in aimless grubber and chip kicks. Did link well with Rieko Ioane and Sam Cane for the All Blacks’ sparkling try on the counter late in the first half. Waisake Naholo 9: Highlanders fans are accustomed to seeing him on his feet and earning breakdown penalties, now he’s doing it at the top level. His defusing of a threatening French raid halfway through the second half was big. Also scored a double.
Ryan Crotty 7.5: Bounced back well from his scratchy performance against the Wallabies in Brisbane. Scored the All Blacks’ 2000th test try – via a SBW grubber – who he was dialled in with. Sonny Bill Williams 4: A brain fade – batting the ball dead league-style – cost him 10 minutes in the bin, and the All Blacks a penalty try. Undid what had been one of his better performances this season.
Rieko Ioane 7: Almost never puts a foot wrong. Another good performance. Beauden Barrett 7.5: Dished up try assists for Naholo and Coles and kicked 6/6 off the tee. Wasn’t the only one, but made a couple of unforced errors in a forgettable second half. Took over the captaincy after Read was forced off early in the second half.
Aaron Smith 7.5: A sound 69 minutes from Smith. Is still the best halfback in New Zealand.
Kieran Read 6.5: Left the game with a niggle in the 48th minute. His captaincy appeared to be missed as the French roared back into the game.
Sam Cane 7.5: Made a team-high 13 tackles. Was on hand to finish a smooth counter-attack late in the first half. Vaea Fifita 6.5: Six runs for 12 metres isn’t what we’re accustomed to when talking about Fifita. Brought physicality to his defensive game (10 tackles). Sam Whitelock 7.5: A typical workhorse-like performance. Tied Cane for a team-high 13 tackles.
Luke Romano 6: Spent a chunk of the game in the blood-bin, before he was replaced by Scott Barrett in the 62nd minute. Three runs for a single metre was all the usually effective ballcarrier could muster.
Nepo Laulala 6.5: Enjoyed a dominant first-half up front. Substituted for Tu’ungafasi with 18 minutes to play.
Dane Coles 7: Succumbed to a leftknee injury in the 24th minute, but not before running a tidy line and scooting over for the All Blacks’ opening try. Kane Hames 8: Being pinged for collapsing an early scrum no doubt fuelled his desire to destroy the French. Hames monstered tighthead Rabah Slimani, who knew who was boss as he trudged off the park for 10 minutes. RESERVES Codie Taylor 6.5: Got significantly more game-time than anyone expected. The All Blacks’ usually flawless lineout dropped a couple on their own throw.
Wyatt Crockett 5: Replaced Hames in 48th minute and was swiftly peppered by Australian referee Angus Gardner at scrum time.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi 5: Came on for Laulala in the 62nd and promptly gave away silly penalty.
Scott Barrett 6: Got a decent run off the bench. Will fancy his chances of slotting back into the starting side against Scotland next weekend.
Matt Todd 7: Replaced Read early in the second half, forcing Cane to play No 8. Made eight tackles and put a decent case forward to keep Ardie Savea out of the 23 next week.
Not rated: TJ Perenara (64th-minute sub), Lima Sopoaga (65th-minute sub), Anton Lienert-Brown (64th-minute sub).