The Blues have offered a good resistance that has hoped for a first victory since 2009 among the All Blacksbut lost for the third consecutive time on Saturday in Hamilton (29-19). The match looked more like the inaugural defeat with the honors in Dunedin (31-27) than in the Neo-Zelandian force demonstration in Wellington (43-17).
Even by scoring only one test by the Garrec, the French led at halftime (19-17) and until the time of play before giving in at the end of the match against the black waves, the All Blacks finally marking four tries.
Banish start
For this third match, the men of Fabien Galkié returned to the tactics which had enabled them to compete in Dunedin: little possession but a big defense, a lot of physical commitment and efficiency in the brand zone, on both sides of the field. And as in Dunedin, the Blues led 10-0, after twenty minutes of play, thanks to a test of Le Garrec which cleverly escaped a balloon carried at five meters, then a penalty of the neo-Rochelais author of 16 of the 19 tricolor points.
The scenario of the first test was repeated to the point that the Blacks immediately glued, taking advantage of a French error: a bad placement by Léo Barré allowed Will Jordan, untenable throughout the match, to take over a ball over the French defensive line (10-7). But this time, the Blues kept the lead, first with a drop by Antoine Hastoy, then by sanctioning each penalty in the All Black camp by the Boot of Le Garrec (19-10).
All Blacks to wear
Better organized against the balloons worn by New Zealand, the French defense resisted twice by preventing the All Blacks from flattening in its in-goal, but cracked just before the break (19-17). The second period could have looked like the first, but was less offensively offensively for the French, Hastoy failing in a new attempt at Drop Hastoy (42), the Garrec missing the transformation of a difficult 40-meter penalty near the touchline (48), or Gailleton, after a surge, being pushed in touch a meter of the ram (62).
These were the only opportunities of the Blues, who have enormously suffered and kept the ball very little. Heroic in DFENSE, they delayed the deadline, whether by “forcing” a ball (45) or with an in extremis rescue of Guillard (54) or a new ball saved in their own in-goal (69).
But a ball played at the foot by McKenzie behind the defense, poorly controlled by Barré, allowed Kirifi to give the advantage to the Blacks for the first time in the match (22-19, 59) before Jordie Barrett, who came into play, crucifies the Blues four minutes from the end by playing the French defense to send McALISTER in the in-goal (29-19, 76).
