All Blacks dominate France 43-17 to reclaim Gallaher Trophy

New Zealand 43-17 France, Sky Stadium

The All Blacks delivered a ruthless statement of intent in Wellington, dismantling France 43-17 in a commanding display that saw them reclaim the Dave Gallaher Trophy and seal the Test series with a match to spare.

After a nervy opener in Dunedin, New Zealand returned to form in emphatic style, dominating territory, tempo, and physicality.

The match began with fly-half Beauden Barrett calmly slotting a penalty goal in the 4th minute after France were caught offside. That opened the scoring at 3-0, and from there, New Zealand shifted into high gear.

In the 10th minute, scrum-half Cam Roigard finished off a sweeping attacking movement, running a crisp support line off Ardie Savea to dive under the posts. Barrett converted for a 10-0 lead.

With Beauden yellow carded in the 18th minute, his brother Jordie took over the kicking responsibility as France opened the account with a penalty kick from Nolann Le Garrec.

In the 17th minute, Ardie Savea powered through contact to notch another try, again converted by Jordie—17-3.

France's discipline began to crack. In the 24th minute, a dominant New Zealand maul was collapsed illegally, earning the hosts a penalty try as the score ballooned to 24-3. France’s frustration showed when Josh Brennan received a yellow card in the 38th minute for a dangerous tip tackle.

Just before the break, Codie Taylor mauled over to stretch the lead, but Barrett’s missed conversion left the score at 29-3.

France started the second half with urgency. Leo Barre scored in the 45th minute, showing individual brilliance out wide. The conversion brought it to 29-10.

But New Zealand weren’t fazed. They slowed the tempo, dominated territory, and patiently waited for chances as Will Jordan touched down in the 53rd minute and Beauden followed it with a conversion to make it 36-10. Any chance of a France comeback was put off as Reiko Ioane with support from Jordan to dot down and the conversion extended their lead to 43-10.

Joshua Brennan picked at the back of a ruck to score a consolation try for France in the closing stage as they succumbed to a 26 point defeat.