France v All Blacks: Five takeaways as Les Bleus re-instate 'world ...

Following France’s 30-29 victory over the All Blacks, here are our five takeaways from the Autumn Nations Series clash at the Stade de France.

Top Line

A frenetic Test match from start to finish as France made it an unprecedented three successive wins over the All Blacks for the first time since the heroes of 1994 and 1995 set that benchmark.

It was a glorious fixture that lived up to the hype and the billing of the 2023 World Cup with a stunning rendition of the Haka setting the tone for what was to come.

In the end, Les Blues emerged one-point victors – it’s becoming quite a theme for big Test in France to end in that manner – thanks to tries from Romain Buros, Paul Boudehent, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and a flawless kicking display and 15-point haul from Thomas Ramos.

The All Blacks, who have now lost four of their 13 Tests under Scott Robertson, fought valiantly and looked on track to keep their unbeaten streak going with tries from Peter Lakai and Cameron Roigard but ultimately fell short to a passionate Les Blues outfit.

Overall, it was a marvellous spectacle befitting of the magnificent Stade de France as both sides threw everything at one another with the game decided by the smallest of margins possible.

France edge the All Blacks in Paris thriller as Scott Robertson’s side lose unbeaten tour record

France re-instate their world-class status

Fabien Galthie and his team get a lot of warranted stick for not selecting their star players during the mid-year internationals and perhaps fairly so even with the ridiculous length of the French Top 14.

This led many Southern Hemisphere fans and pundits to undermine their world-class status and ranking amongst the top five nations in international rugby simply because, since the World Cup last year, we have not seen the best of France arguably until now.

Much of that has to do with their talisman Antoine Dupont only playing his first big international of the year until now but also because of the indifferent performance by the men in blue in 2024.

However, today they laid down a marker with their victory over the Test rugby kings, New Zealand, as they matched them blow-for-blow and landed the final uppercut to knock the men in black onto the canvas.

Still, it was far from a flawless performance from Les Blues but the mark of a great team is not playing at your best and still winning – just ask the Springboks who have done precisely that for the last two weeks. Their scrum was being dismantled -more on that later – while they were outkicked by the brilliant New Zealand halfbacks. But the French got the ‘W’ thanks to their stunning ability to create something out of nothing and a bit of ingenuity too.

So much credit should go to their pocket rocket speedster Bielle-Biarrey who was sublime all game and provided his side with that game-breaking x-factor that was sorely needed with Damian Penaud sidelined, while the forwards’ coaches deserve a pat on the back for Bodehent’s try that swung momentum and was the catalyst for the victory.

Cam Roigard locks in the starting role despite early hook

If it wasn’t clear yet it is now, Cameron Roigard is the successor to Aaron Smith and it’s not a debate anymore. Cortez Ratima impressed during the Rugby Championship with standout performances but Roigard has produced shifts akin to the All Blacks greatest-ever number nine Smith and he is just getting started after a lengthy injury lay-off.

Today, he was tasked with going toe-to-toe with the best scrum-half in the business in Antoine Dupont and for much of the match, the young All Black was the more influential and frankly better performer in the match. That’s not to say that Dupont was having a bad game, it was more the New Zealander having a stormer. His service was rapid, his instincts on point and his decision-making of the highest order. It was a sight to behold.

With his pack cracking up the pressure on the French forwards, Roigard pounced on Gregory Alldritt – one of the best number eights in the game – and somehow managed to make a half tackle on him before intercepting his pass to Dupont and cantering a way for a try that put New Zealand into a fantastic position.

There will be plenty of ifs, buts and maybes from the All Blacks after that performance in Paris, but the one that will stick with most fans will be ‘What if Roigard wasn’t hooked so early in the second half?’

The use of the bench has been a major theme during the November internationals and today, one cannot help but feel that Robertson made a mighty error in calling Roigard’s number so early in the second half with the number nine having such a fine game.

Springboks show champion qualities as Cheslin Kolbe scores twice to beat England and pile more pressure on Steve Borthwick

All Blacks pack rises to the challenge

It would not surprise this writer if Tamaiti Williams and Tyrel Lomax got the tap from the billionaire Top 14 owners who were in attendance for today’s match after they hammered Les Bleus in the scrums. Lomax has cemented himself as one of the best tighthead props in the game over the last 18 months if not longer but Williams has enjoyed a meteoric rise this year on the back of a sterling 2023.

The pair were sensational in all facets of the game and could well be weighing up absurd Euro figures despite being named in their respective Super Rugby Pacific squad just this week.

While they did the business and creamed the likes of Jean-Baptiste Gros, Tevita Tatafu, George-Henri Colombe and Reda Wardi in the scrums – the rest of the pack also rose to the occasions with Ardie Savea having another blinder of performance while Lakai really impressed in front of a ferocious French eight and baying crowd.

What’s to come

Scott Robertson’s first season as the new All Blacks head coach concludes in Italy next week as New Zealand tackle the Azzurri looking to end a long international season on a high. We can expect Razor to make several alternations for the encounter but that will not be to undermine the Azzurri instead to reward those players in his squad that pushed for minutes all year long.

Meanwhile, France close out the year with a clash against an Argentina outfit that pushed Ireland to the limit on Friday evening. It’s been a challenging year for Les Blues marred by off-field controversies and underwhelming performances in the Six Nations but Galthie will be hellbent on ending on a high.

READ MORE: England v Springboks: Five takeaways as ‘wholesale changes’ needed after fifth straight loss while Boks deliver ‘uncharacteristic’ performance