France XV beaten for a third time by New Zealand

Three-zero. The French men's rugby team lost again (29-19) to the All Blacks on Saturday, July 19, at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand. The two previous test matches had ended in two defeats for Fabien Galthié's Blues: 31-27 on July 5, after a match in which Fabien's second team surprised them, and 43-17 a week later, in a match in which the French were outplayed 50% of the time. "We were brave, but at this level, it's not enough," Théo Attissogbe said after the match on Canal+. "We have to be realistic, we're leaving with three defeats."

This third act, however, started very well for the Blues, who played in white this Saturday, in the cool (9 degrees) of the southern winter. In the ^8th minute of play, Nolann Le Garrec, the future scrum-half of La Rochelle, completed the work of undermining his forwards, making his way to the try through the Blacks defense (0-5). Also in charge of the conversions, Le Garrec – one of only two players, along with Théo Attissogbe, to have started in all three test matches – added two more points to the French score with a sure kick (0-7).

Things looked even better in the 20th ^minute , when the New Zealand team, at fault, awarded a penalty – and three more points – to Le Garrec (0-10). But against the All Blacks, comfort and control almost never exist. This is something that winger Will Jordan quickly reminded them of by taking advantage of a poor position by the French backs to score a try on the run, which was then converted by Damian McKenzie (7-10, ^22nd ).

Exploiting every little flaw in the New Zealanders' game, and thanks to the balls recovered by their forwards, the Blues, very skillful with their feet, took the lead on the scoreboard (10-19), thanks to a drop goal from Antoine Hastoy ( ^24th ) and two penalties from Le Garrec ( ^34th and ^37th ). A small affront quickly erased by the Blacks: a strong try from Anton Lienert-Brown, then converted by McKenzie (17-19, ^40th + 3).

With this slight advantage at halftime, the second period promised to be a hot one. After the break, the All Blacks were fierce and put pressure on the French defense. And in the ^{59th minute} , Léo Barré, in difficulty on several occasions, had a ball stolen that Du'Plessis Kirifi was responsible for flattening in the in-goal (22-19).

At this stage of the game, all hopes remained for the Blues, despite the territorial domination of the New Zealanders. But the dream of a victory against the All Blacks away was definitively dashed in the ^76th , when Brodie McAlister, well served by Jordie Barret, scored another try, converted in the process by McKenzie (29-19).

After a good first half, the French XV committed "too many mistakes," said Lyon forward Mickaël Guillard in the second half. "By suffering, we take points," the player continued on Canal+. "We gave them a hard time," said Gaël Fickou, captain of the French team during this tour. "We managed to draw with the All Blacks twice, with a fairly novice team. Mentally, we were very dignified and strong."