Rugby Union: France 3 - 47 New Zealand

It would have been impolitic for the All Blacks to state that this result means they will enter the World Cup as the runaway favourites, but experienced students of the sayings of Graham Henry will be worried. Very worried, because the New Zealand head coach almost mustered a smile after this utterly one-sided result against the No2 ranked nation.

"Very encouraging signs going forward," was the New Zealand head coach's verdict on what inflicting France's heaviest ever home defeat meant, just 10½ months from France 2007. In All Black speak that translates as "Lock up your daughters and hide the kitchen knives, we're on our way".

In calling this "one of the best displays in my time in charge" Henry was merely stating the blindingly obvious after France were made to look less like potential finalists - as the World Cup seedings might suggest - than a junior side, outclassed in every area and utterly demoralised by the hour.

"They can run 100m in 10sec - we take 12, but we hoped it might be 11," said France's coach Bernard Laporte. Catching up in the space of six days, before their next meeting, will be a mammoth task; Laporte had said beforehand that his side were out to ensure there was some interest in the World Cup next year. On this showing, there would be little point anyone other than the Kiwis turning up.

"We have definitely made a psychological point," said their captain Richie McCaw, who played out of his skin after being criticised by the French during the week. He recognises that New Zealand will have to spend the next 10 months managing expectations. "That's now - it's really good, we're really pleased. But a lot can change in a year, a lot can change in seven days.

"What we've done now doesn't mean we'll go and do it again next week by right. We've got to start again. Moving towards next year, New Zealand have been in this situation before where we've performed [well] going into the World Cup. We've got to make sure we keep getting better and better." The prospect of improvement on this showing is a daunting one indeed.

While France clung on for the first quarter, afterwards New Zealand attained a level of physical intensity that made the previous week's record defeat of England look like a mere warm-up. Every contact resulted in France going backwards; every loose ball or missed tackle was exploited with diabolical speed.

Moreover, there were none of the gaps in the All Black line that opened at Twickenham. Instead, every Frenchman seemed to find himself smothered in two or three black jerseys. It took France 53 minutes to muster a half-decent line-break, and almost 70 to get within reach of the try-line. Otherwise barely an inch of space opened for the France backs.

While the sight of McCaw making hay at the breakdown, Jerry Collins doing a passable imitation of a piano falling downstairs in the loose and the back three making 50 metres in the drop of a hat are now the trademarks of this All Black side, most shocking and unexpected of all was the total annihilation of the France scrum.

This was particularly ironic after the French polemics over the All Blacks' way of engaging. "We just said if they don't like us doing a half crouch we'll do a full crouch," said the hooker Anton Oliver. Carter's try on the stroke of half-time summed up their dominance: a France scrum blown apart in their own 22 on their own put-in, McCaw pouncing on the loose ball to feed the No10. "They crucified us," said the France manager Jo Maso.

While Henry now faces the conundrum of who to leave out for the return fixture on Saturday in Paris, Laporte has to rebuild or face the prospect of his side becoming broken men in six days. Yesterday he dropped his full-back Julien Laharrague from the 22 and brought in Pepito Elhorga, the last Frenchman to score a try against the All Blacks, three years ago in the play-off for third and fourth place in the 2003 World Cup.

The France coach also dropped the weakest of his back row, Thierry Dusautoir, for Serge Betsen, arguably the hardest tackler in the country. Worryingly, the further injury on Saturday in a club game to Frédéric Michalak means there is no prospect of change at fly-half, where Damien Traille never looked the part, and the captain Fabien Pelous said ominously that if France could not front up, "the margin will be not 40 but 60 or 70 points".

France Laharrague (Perpignan); Rougerie (Clermont-Auvergne), Fritz (Toulouse; Marty, Perpignan, 73), Jauzion (Toulouse), Dominici (Stade Français); Traille (Biarritz), Yachvili (Biarritz; Elissalde, Toulouse, 80); Marconnet (Stade Français; Milloud, Bourgoin, 48), Szarzewski (Stade Francais; Ibanez, Wasps, 48), De Villiers (Stade Français), Pelous (capt, Toulouse; Nallet, Castres, 55), Pape (Castres), Dusautoir (Toulouse; Martin, Stade Français, 68), Bonnaire (Bourgoin), Vermeulen (Clermont-Auvergne).

Drop-goal Fritz.

Sin-bin Pelous, 26

New Zealand MacDonald (Canterbury; Muliaina, Waikato, 79); Rococoko (Auckland), Smith (Wellington), McAlister (North Harbour), Sivivatu (Waikato); Carter (Canterbury; Nonu, Wellington, 65), Weepu (Wellington; Kelleher, Waikato, 59); Woodcock (North Harbour; Tialata, Wellington, 71), Oliver (Otago; Mealamu, Auckland, 52), Hayman (Otago), Ryan (Otago), Williams (Auckland), Collins (Wellington), McCaw (capt, Canterbury; Eaton, Taranaki, 62), So'oialo (Wellington).

Tries Sivivatu 2, McCaw, Carter, Smith, Rococoko, McAlister. Cons Carter 3. Pens Carter 2.

Referee
S Dickinson (Australia). Attendance 41,000.