WORLD VIEW: 'Stunningly mentally frail' All Blacks 'stumble around zombified', France have more to give

France were nowhere near as good as they can be – nor New Zealand as bad as they’ll be made out to be – but the hosts will take a significant boost from winning the opening match of the World Cup. This is how the media reacted.

Gregor Paul, writing in the New Zealand Herald said the All Blacks “opened their World Cup campaign with a statement performance of sorts, one that has placed them firmly in the category of long shot with an impossible amount to fix-up if they are to still be in France in late October.

“What the All Blacks have done is shown the world they are stunningly mentally frail.

“A brilliant occasion, which was brilliantly refereed, saw a brilliant French team systematically tear the All Blacks apart, in a performance that must have them already installed as favourites to win their own tournament.

“One team looked like they loved the pressure, the other didn’t and the old cliches get wheeled out at World Cups about little moments having big impacts, because they are true.

“It was endless little moments that cost the All Blacks dearly in Paris and their inability to win many, if any, leaves a heavy doubt hanging over them whether they have the mental resolve to win this tournament.

“World Cups are about handling pressure, and the All Blacks just didn’t do that. Not for long enough, not the way they needed to.”

 (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images)

Liam Napier, also in the NZ Herald, said “France weren’t exceptional but they grew after leading 9-8 at half time and they never let up.

“When replacement Melvyn Jaminet scored late, the blue and white party really started. And it continued long after the final whistle.

“For all the hype and anticipation you wouldn’t call this match an instant classic with its kick-heavy tactics and frequent mistakes. It was gripping, though, with multiple lead changes and compelling tension.”

Chris Foy, in the Daily Mail, wrote “before it all came together and they produced a dazzling late flourish, France laboured for so long to take advantage of their supremacy in much of the battle up front.

“Mark Telea’s two tries propelled the All Blacks towards a win which would have spoiled the big launch party, but Fabien Galthie’s home side belatedly grew into the game and Damian Penaud’s second-half try gave them the impetus to ignite their campaign with a prized scalp.”

In the Telegraph, Gavin Mairs suggested “these two sides have served up some of the most epic World Cup encounters over the years, but France’s stunning victory, founded on relentless second-half display, must surely register as the most emotionally charged of them all.

“Sixteen years ago at this venue France, as hosts, crashed to a humbling defeat in the World Cup opener, going down to Argentina in a result that sent shockwaves throughout the tournament.

(Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

“This time it is Les Bleus who had laid down a seismic marker, overwhelming New Zealand and giving the French public the ferocious and uplifting first chapter in a tournament that promises to be the best of the lot.

“It is possible that these two sides could yet meet in the final next month and both should easily qualify for the quarter-final. But it is France who have landed the psychological blow that cements their status as favourites to lift the Webb Ellis trophy.

“Even without hitting top gear, France’s power and ruthless in the final quarter, riding on the wave of the turbo-charged atmosphere, was breath-taking. Perhaps it is only the Springboks at their most menacing who have the fire power to match Fabien Gathlie’s men.”

Jonathan Liew tackled the match with his trademark humour in the Guardian.

“There is nothing quite as disorienting as the sight of beaten All Blacks. Everybody loses, but somehow when New Zealand lose it is as if they have been deprogrammed. They stumble around zombified, occasionally feigning a smile or a grimace, but mostly wondering what the hell just happened,” he wrote.

“And perhaps the greatest compliment you could pay France on a storming opening night of the Rugby World Cup is that they did to New Zealand what the All Blacks have so invariably done to others. Gritting out the tough periods, shrugging off their errors, keeping the score down, moving through the gears, sniffing out weakness and then running riot in the last quarter. This was a performance straight out of the All Blacks’ playbook, and so perhaps the reason they looked so stunned afterwards was they had been confronted with a frightening mutation of themselves.”

Robert Kitson, also in the Guardian, wrote: “Rugby World Cups are not won or lost on the tournament’s first night but the opening fixture can often set the tone. On a sweltering evening in Saint-Denis, this was a game played in the most electric of sporting atmospheres, an early clue as to what awaits in the knockout stages. If crowds are half as enthusiastic as this for the entire competition, it is going to be a truly thunderous event.”

Alex Lowe, in the The Times, said France “eventually turned on the style on a sultry night in Paris to open their home tournament with a victory over New Zealand.

(Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

“It was not a classic French performance and there is much more to come from Les Bleus, which is a warning for the rest of the tournament because the All Blacks were never in the game in the second half.

“This was a reality check for the All Blacks, whose aura has gone. France won without Dupont having to shine, which is a statement in itself from the hosts on the opening night of their big event.”