The All Blacks have sent a clear message that they are indeed the team to beat at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, thumping France 37-17 in what was to be their toughest pool game.
They scored five tries to France’s two, in what was a dominant display of every facet of the game. France simply had no answer.
Despite this, it was the French who exerted all the early pressure, spending nearly the entire first ten minutes inside the All Blacks half.
But they couldn’t get through the rock solid defence of the All Blacks, resorting to taking a drop kick, which missed.
The next ten minutes determined the outcome, as the All Blacks ran in three very classy tries.
The first came after a midfield break from Ma’a Nonu had the French defence on the ropes, allowing Adam Thomson to cross in the corner.
The second saw Piri Weepu throw a perfectly timed pass to Cory Jane, who wrapped around the outside of a lineout and ran into to cross, catching the French defence drifting.
The third came from an outstanding piece of individual work from Daniel Carter, who stepped through the French defence before passing inside to Israel Dagg.
19-0 after 20 minutes, and that was more or less the game.
The All Blacks continued to look dangerous for the remainder of the game, crossing for two more tries, while France were able to snaffle a couple of their own.
One of these was from an intercept and the other from a tap which would prove to be very dubious, as it didn’t seem time had been signalled back on after a break.
It was purely academic by that stage though, as the All Blacks ran out comfortable winners.
The key to the win came in gaining dominance at the breakdown. The All Blacks’ loose forwards were outstanding here, effecting countless turnovers and tackles between them.
Richie McCaw had his best game of 2011 in his 100th Test and is showing that he is starting to get back to his peak.
The tight forwards were also very good, particularly in the first 60 minutes, where they dominated the French at set-piece time, allowing for a good platform for the backs to work with.
The backline looked slick, with Daniel Carter delivering yet another stellar performance, running the show well and making the jobs of the men outside him that much easier.
To go with this he looked very dangerous running the ball, with the third try in particular showing just how good he is with ball in hand.
In the midfield they constantly looked threatening, with Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith running dangerously while being generally solid in defence.
The back three were good, with Israel Dagg in particular playing outstandingly well. He showed great skills under the high ball and gave the French defence all sorts of problems.
Unfortunately for the All Blacks, he sustained an injury late in the game and was forced to leave the field. They’ll hope he comes right, but if he doesn’t they have a very capable replacement in Mils Muliaina.
The controversial Sonny Bill Williams got his chance to impress, replacing Cory Jane on the wing late in the first half after Jane appeared to suffer an injury.
Once again, he showed that he can be a very dangerous player and was outstanding for the first 10 minutes of the second half, setting up a try and minutes later making a very good run.
But he went missing for the next 25 minutes, hardly featuring again until scoring on the end of the line in the 76th minute.
Whether this is enough to justify selection is up to opinion, but doing two or three good things in 45 minutes on the park just doesn’t do it for this writer.
Ultimately though, it was a commanding performance that sends a clear message to the other teams.
While no-one else has really looked the goods, this All Blacks side looked nothing but the goods against a genuine contender.
One could also argue that this means little in the scheme of the whole World Cup, as they have been in a similar position before and lost.
But if they play like they did tonight, they will go through the remainder of 2011 untouched.
They now move on to play Canada next Sunday in their last hit out before their quarter-final, where they will likely welcome back Kieran Read, who will make his World Cup debut, after being sidelined for the whole tournament thus far with an injury.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Australian rugby has many problems - financial crisis, ever-shrinking audiences, shortage of coaching expertise, Greg Martin, etc etc. But one problem which I have…
By my count, the Brumbies have played three teams of consequence this season. The first two - the Chiefs and Blues - thrashed them…
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan says it’s “purely coincidental” that Semipeni Finau has put on a massive, late hit on a fourth fly-half in nine…
He was born 1905, 1904 or 1908 according to various reports, in Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, and is remembered as one of the great Māori players.
I don’t really get the comparisons between Joey Manu and Sonny Bill Williams. I realise they have the Roosters in common, along with a…
All Blacks star Jordie Barrett has announced a sabbatical to play with Irish club Leinster at year's end, while committing his future to New…
