NEW ZEALAND HELD OFF France to continue their 100 percent record this year with a 26-19 victory at the Stade de France on Saturday night.
Charles Piutau was the hero, scoring one try and setting up Kieran Read for a second while Brice Dulin went over for the hosts.
Dan Carter kicked 14 points for the All Blacks with Morgan Parra matching him for the hosts.
France were knocking on the door in the final minutes with a series of scrums five yards out but couldn’t force their way over to potentially snatch a draw.
The rain abated before kick off but a sopping wet week meant conditions were far from ideal for free-flowing, attacking rugby.
Yet both sets of players handled the slippery ball confidently and produced some entertaining running rugby.
New Zealand almost got off to a dream start as Ma’a Nonu broke the gainline.
The ball was recycled to the right and wing Cory Jane looked to have touched down in the corner just as he was bundled into touch.
It went to the video review which showed he’d got the ball down before his foot touched out of bounds, but at the last second he’d dropped the ball and the try was disallowed.
France were a changed outfit from recent abject performances and showed great willingness to run at the All Blacks.
Fly-half Remi Tales made several half breaks and the jinking Wesley Fofana also managed to get beyond the gainline. But several times they came up just short in their attempts to breach the tryline and had to settle for penalties.
Most likely
Parra missed his first effort from halfway but knocked over the next three before missing another just before the break.
Carter also had three successful kicks before halftime, including one from almost halfway.
France looked the most likely to cross the tryline in the first half when Parra charged down a kick in New Zealand’s 22. But after a couple of piercing breaks from Tales, they eventually had to settle for another penalty.
The two kickers continued to trade penalties at the start of the second half before New Zealand struck in clinical fashion.
The score came out of nothing as the ball was moved down the line to left wing Piutau, who kicked and chased.
He had the pace to beat Yoann Huget and then got a favourable bounce to take him past the covering Parra. Carter kicked the extras.
Aaron Cruden came on for Carter but missed with his first penalty attempt from wide right.
The All Blacks were well on top by now, camped inside the French half but their second try owed much to pure genius.
Piutau was the architect with an incredible pass out of the back of his hand while being tackled by two players to set Read free to scamper over in the left corner, with Cruden adding the extras.
That seemed to spark France into life, though, and they went straight up the other end, barged up to the New Zealand line with their forwards and then went left for full-back Dulin to dive over.
With 10 minutes to go the crowd could sense a comeback and France kicked a penalty to the corner rather than at goal.
Fofana and Sebastien Vahaamahina made good ground before Damien Chouly was held up over the line, and France’s hopes were over.
South Africa too strong for Six Nations champs
South Africa maintained their winning dominance over Wales on Saturday with a brutal 24-15 victory based on a suffocating blanket defence and an unerring knack of doing the basics well.
The Springboks scored three tries through captain Jean de Villiers, Bismarck du Plessis and Fourie du Preez, fly-half Morne Steyn bagging two conversions and a penalty, Pat Lambie also hitting a conversion.
Wales had just five Leigh Halfpenny penalties to their credit, meaning that under coach Warren Gatland, they have now lost 21 of their 22 Test matches against southern hemisphere giants New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, the exception a 21-18 win over Australia in 2008.
David Davies/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Their sole victory over South Africa, in 27 internationals stretching back 107 years, came back in 1999.
“We were more clinical than Wales, but not happy with the performance,” said de Villiers.
“It was all a bit iffy — there’s a lot of work to do before next week’s match (at Twickenham against England).”
Wales skipper Sam Warburton admitted it had been a frustrating outing.
“We had the belief that we could win but it was not to be,” he said.“At 15-17 in the second half, we were in control but one loose pass and we got punished badly.
“You make one little mistake against these teams and you pay the price.”
The match at the Millennium Stadium was one of attrition, notably in the first-half when a series of high-impact collisions saw Wales forced into three replacements and South Africa one.
But for all of Wales’ endeavour, they could not breach a Springbok line led superbly by lock Eben Etzebeth and hooker Du Plessis, the pair also instrumental in their side’s effective driving maul and disruptive line-out play.
An electric start after an emotional rendition of the Last Post in mark of Monday’s Armistice Day saw Wales centre Jonathan Davies burst through four tackles.
A Springbok infringement at the proceeding ruck gifted Halfpenny an opening penalty, swiftly levelled by Steyn at the other end.
Halfpenny kicked his second penalty after Davies again scythed through the ‘Bok midfield in a frantic passage of play, but South Africa responded in magnificent style.
Steyn found Bryan Habana in space in his own 22m area, the Toulon winger accelerating past Welsh hooker Richard Hibbard and passing inside to Du Plessis, whose offload De Villiers juggled before grounding despite Mike Phillips’ desperate tackle.
Wales were forced into two replacements, with Liam Williams and Jonathan Davies both injured in the build-up to the try, James Hook and Ashley Beck coming on.
The visitors spurned two penalties from kickable distances, and the gamble paid off against a Wales side in disarray, Du Plessis showing great strength to drive over from a slick line-out move to Duane Vermuelen at the back.
Pressure and points
A second Steyn conversion and suddenly it was 17-6 after 18 minutes, the Springbok fly-half then also going off injured to be replaced by Willie le Roux.
Halfpenny clawed back six points with his third and fourth penalties, Wales dominating possession but unable to maximise their pressure in the danger zone.
With tempers raised, Bath flanker Francois Louw saw yellow for driving his forearm into a prone Hibbard, and Wales threw everything they had at the ‘Boks, but the visitors’ blanket defence held firm until half-time.
The second period started off quite disjointedly, Halfpenny bagging a fifth, long-range penalty in the 54th minute after prop Gethin Jenkins, outstanding in the loose, forced ‘Bok debutant Frans Malherbe into collapsing a scrum.
Malherbe was immediately subbed off but Irish referee Alain Rolland had lost patience and when the next scrum also went down, Jenkins and replacement Coenie Oosthuizen were sent to the sin-bin, meaning uncontested scrums.
Lambie, who’d slotted into fly-half from full-back, then scuffed a snatched drop-goal and a penalty attempt as Wales upped their defence against a rattled Springbok team.
But two old heads currently plying their trade in Japan came to the rescue, recalled centre Jaque Fourie following up on a speculative Du Preez clearing kick, flicking the ball inside to the scrum-half who scooted under the posts for a simple try Lambie converted.
- © AFP, 2013
