Will Jordan moves within two of the All Blacks try record as New Zealand edge France 34-32

The inaugural Nations Championship needed a statement match to announce itself to the world. Christchurch provided one. New Zealand and France played 80 minutes of extraordinary, end-to-end test rugby at the newly roofed One New Zealand Stadium, with the All Blacks ultimately prevailing 34–32 in a match that had nine tries, multiple lead changes, and a French side without their two best backs who refused to concede anything until the final whistle.

Will Jordan scored twice. Cam Roigard scored twice. Peter Lakai went over once. For the All Blacks, it was a winning start for new head coach Dave Rennie. For Jordan, it was a milestone of significance: his two tries move him to 47 career tries, just two behind Doug Howlett's New Zealand record of 49.

A game of momentum shifts

France opened the scoring when Damian Penaud crossed in the second minute after a sharp piece of broken-field play, and for the first 15 minutes the visitors (playing without Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey) looked capable of causing a serious upset. New Zealand's new fly-half Ruben Love, making his first test start, received a yellow card in the opening minutes for a high shot on Max Spring, leaving the All Blacks down to 14 for a critical stretch.

New Zealand recovered and led 19–13 at half-time after Jordan, Lakai, and Roigard all crossed. The second half was a game within a game: France, playing with a ball-in-hand rate of 81 per cent in the first half alone, came back through Antoine Hastoy and Theo Attissogbe to briefly lead before Jordan's 71st-minute try (a clinical finish in the left corner after Jordie Barrett's try assist) gave the All Blacks breathing room at 34–25. Matthieu Jalibert's late try made it a two-point game at the death, but New Zealand held on.

Rennie's promising beginning

Rennie takes over an All Blacks side that is still dealing with the departures of key experience, including Tupou Vaa'i and Scott Barrett who were both unavailable for this match. The coaching appointment was confirmed in March, giving him limited preparation time, which makes the victory all the more pleasing. His second test is against Italy in Wellington on 11 July before a potential blockbuster against South Africa on 18 July.

"We knew France would come at us hard. Losing Will Jordan's yellow card hurt us early but the boys showed real resilience." Dave Rennie, post-match.

French captain Maxime Lucu, who finished with two penalties and two conversions from fly-half, was philosophical: "The score was 34–32. It's nothing really. We played the best team in the world and the difference was only in small details."

New Zealand 34 (Jordan 2, Lakai, Roigard 2; Love 3 con, 1 pen) defeated France 32 (Penaud, Hastoy, Attissogbe, Jalibert; Lucu 2 con, 2 pen, Hastoy con). One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch. 4 July 2026.