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AUCKLAND, 25 Sept. – Mission accomplished. Three tries in the opening 20 minutes set up a comfortable victory over France, but the All Blacks know they have plenty of room for improvement following their 37-17 win at Eden Park on Saturday.
Richie McCaw was able to celebrate his 100th Test match in front of a mostly black sea of 60,856 fans interspersed with patches of blue, white and red.
For the first five minutes France looked as fresh and bright as their crisp white jerseys, taking all the territory as New Zealand looked to absorb Les Bleus’ attacks.
But as quickly as storm clouds can gather on a clear day, the All Blacks closed in as Ma’a Nonu shrugged off two tackles before offloading the ball to Adam Thomson to register New Zealand’s first points nine minutes in.
"We had to absorb a fair bit early on and I was proud of the way the boys did that,” McCaw said. “When we got the opportunity, we put the points on the board.
"The first 10 minutes the French really got stuck in. The way we defended set the tone for the game."
Cruise control
France were then forced to weather the barrage as New Zealand continued to expose gaps in their defence and take control.
As full back Israel Dagg touched down for New Zealand’s third try only minutes after Cory Jane had crossed for their second, the All Blacks shifted to cruise control against a sluggish French defence.
"We started well. Then we paid straight away for our mistakes in defence,” Maxime Médard admitted.
Les Bleus had moments when they managed to break through the All Black line, but Graham Henry’s men were always quick to close in as the French attackers struggled without support.
It was a similar story for France in the second half as Dagg crossed over for his second try immediately after the restart, securing the bonus point for New Zealand.
France’s Maxime Mermoz was able to capitalise on a loose pass to cross over and fly half Francois Trinh-Duc added another try late in the match, but Les Bleus never looked like bridging the gap as the All Blacks switched their focus from attack to containment.
Work to do
"You never want to see your line crossed and defence is a big part of it,” McCaw said. "I suppose when you get a few points up, to keep on the money is tough."
Henry was happy with the way his side absorbed the early pressure, but he conceded his team is still to reach peak form.
“There’s still some work to do I think, but a very pleasing step up,” he said. “I think it’s great to have quality opposition that put this team under pressure. I think you learn a lot more from that going forward.
“At times we struggled to get our defence line into position early in the game, that sort of thing. You only find out those things playing quality opposition.”
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