Player ratings: Ten steps behind
The French gave New Zealand a good run for their money, but ultimately fell short – losing 13-23 in Auckland on Saturday.
The visitors would have gained some confidence from the first match in a three-Test series, but they will know they were off the pace of a very good All Black team
At least they know that they were competitive, if nothing else.
Jan de Koning rates the French players!
15 Yoann Huget:
His kicking out of hand was good, but knocked the ball on after being put into a huge gap in the second half. Again showed great hands after the break and was solid allround – made a few errors late in the game.
6/10
14 Adrien Plante:
Showed some great running skills and found a great gap late in the first half. Made good ground with a couple of his runs and set up a great counter in the second half, only for Picamoles to butcher it.
6/10
13 Florian Fritz:
Great gap for first try, even though some may claim it was because Ma'a Nonu was tripped by one of his own teammates. He often troubled the All Black defence.
7/10
12 Wesley Fofana:
Was a big threat on attack and combined will with Fritz, but was well marked by an impressive Ma'a Nonu.
6/10
11 Maxime Medard:
Had a very quiet game and missed a crucial tackle.
4/10
10 Camille Lopez:
Has a pretty decent boot on him and not a bade step either. His distribution skills showed why he was preferred ahead of Frederic Michalak.
7/10
9 Maxime Machenaud:
Did the basics well, but doesn't have a good kicking game, Was injured early in the second half .
5/10
8 Louis Picamoles:
Great turnover in first half, showed his awareness. There were plenty of strong carries and won a crucial turnover and then took a great ball out of the air. He did put the ball down with an open tryline, but still France's best forward.
7/10
7 Fulgence Ouedraogo:
Replaced late in the first half after a quiet game – could have been carrying an injury.
4/10
6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain):
As always a workhorse and very influential in the game. His defence was simply inspirational and he took the ball up well.
6/10
5 Yoann Maestri:
A few decent carries, and worked hard on defence. However, his workrate could have been better at the breakdown.
5/10
4 Sebastien Vahaamahina:
Struggled to make any ground with ball in hand and his handling skills also let him down. Won a few turnovers.
5/10
3 Luc Ducalcon:
Couple of scrum penalties conceded, but made some decent tackles and had a few carries.
5/10
2 Dimitri Szarzewski:
Worked hard, even though he did not always make much ground with ball in hand, he was good value to his team.
6/10
1 Thomas Domingo:
Good early penalty turnover, but penalised at scrum time – real ding-dong battle with Owen Franks in the scrums.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Guilhem Guirado (on for Szarzewski, 57):
His first line-out throw was not straight and his workrate was not that great either.
4/10
17 Vincent Debaty (on for Ducalcon, 51):
Penalised at scrum time after numerous resets. A few ineffective runs.
4/10
18 Daniel Kotze (on for Domingo, 51):
Penalised after several collapsed scrums soon after coming on. Also missed a tackle and made no other contribution worth noting.
4/10
19 Alexandre Flanquart (on for Maestri, 70):
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Yannick Nyanga (on for Ouedraogo, 36):
Worked very hard on defence and did not miss a single tackle. The legs might be getting older, but the body is still very willing.
6/10
21 Jean-Marc Doussain (on for Machenaud, 42):
Had a few ineffective snipes and was basically just a link.
5/10
22 Frederic Michalak (on for Lopez, 65):
Popped up at scrumhalf and flyhalf after coming on. He still has great skills, but just not consistent enough.
6/10
23 Maxime Mermoz (on for Fritz, 69):
Not enough time to be rated.
