New Zealand 43-17 France: Improved All Blacks clinch series win with rout

Codie Taylor and Ardie Savea led an improved New Zealand display as they wrapped up their series with France after a convincing 43-17 victory at the Sky Stadium.

Taylor scored two tries with Savea, who replaced the injured Scott Barrett as captain, also going over as the All Blacks put on a ruthless display in the second Test.

A Beauden Barrett penalty opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Cam Roigard notched the first try of the match in the 14th minute to put his team in control.

Savea then went over in the 23rd minute, which was followed by two tries in seven minutes from Taylor to give New Zealand a 29-3 lead going into the break.

France responded and made five chances at the start of the second half, and they did improve as full-back Leo Barre registered their first try of the contest in the 47th minute.

But the damage had already been done by the All Blacks, who responded with tries of their own from Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane to pull further clear of their opponents.

However, France had the final say through Joshua Brennan, but it proved to be a mere consolation as New Zealand powered to victory ahead of the third Test next weekend.

Treats in the capital pic.twitter.com/T2eWDmntCh
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 12, 2025

Data Debrief: All Blacks respond in style

The All Blacks bounced back from a nervous 31-27 win in the first Test in Dunedin, though their cause was helped by taking on an inexperienced France side, who made 10 changes to their starting line-up.

However, New Zealand took full advantage of that, with their display seeing them lift the Dave Gallager Trophy for the first time in seven years, with the foundations for the triumph laid by their clinical performance in the first half of the contest.

Indeed, their 26-point half-time lead (29-3) was their biggest in a Test against a European opponent since a 49-3 advantage against Italy at the Rugby World Cup 2023.

There was also a special moment for Taylor, who became the only player from a Tier One nation to have scored a try in every calendar year in men's Test rugby since his debut in 2015. His tries against France were his 22nd and 23rd for the All Blacks.