Magnifique for France as All Blacks are beaten
France handed a nation the result it craved as they opened their Rugby World Cup campaign on home soil by beating New Zealand 27-13 last night.
It was the All Blacks' first pool-phase defeat in World Cup history and they could have few complaints.
Although the game never took off as a true spectacle at Stade de France, it was all about the result as Les Bleus prevailed through second-half tries by wing Damian Penaud and replacement Melvyn Jaminet, plus 17 points from full-back Thomas Ramos.
Wing Mark Telea scored two tries for New Zealand, with flyhalf Richie Mo'unga kicking a penalty. While New Zealand are still odds-on to secure a quarter-final place from Pool A, France's success sent an immediate message of their world title intent.
New Zealand suffered a late injury blow when captain Sam Cane was ruled out with an unspecified injury. No 8 Ardie Savea took over as skipper, with Dalton Papalii moving from blindside to openside flanker and Tupou Vaa'i being promoted to the starting XV.
New Zealand showed no sign of it unsettling them as they went ahead in 93 seconds when Beauden Barrett's kick was gathered by Telea for the opening try.
Although Ramos kicked a penalty shortly afterwards, Les Blues struggled to settle and hooker Julien Marchand was forced off injured after 13 minutes. A second Ramos penalty nudged France ahead, but Mo'unga quickly cancelled that out ahead of a water-break as temperatures nudged 28 degrees at almost 10pm local time.
Ramos completed his penalty hat-trick 12 minutes before half-time as France claimed a 9-8 interval lead.
New Zealand began the second period with an immediate statement of intent as Telea sprinted over for his second try. Back came France, though, when fly-half Matthieu Jalibert's half-break set up Penaud for an outstanding try, and Ramos' wide-angled conversion made it 16-13.
Jordan was shown a yellow card by referee Jaco Peyper for an illegal aerial challenge on Ramos, whose fourth successful penalty opened up a six-point gap inside the final quarter. Another successful kick seven minutes from time sealed the deal as France triumphed 27-13 on the back of Jaminet's late touchdown.