Gerry Thornley: France-New Zealand could be the best match of the Autumn Nations Series

It’s all worked out quite nicely really. Ireland’s game having been on a Friday night again, there’s no clash with a full round of Energia All-Ireland League fixtures and with perfect timing club bars up and down the country will then be screening England v South Africa at Twickenham (5.40pm) and then, better still, France v New Zealand at Stade de France (9.10pm local/8.10pm Irish).
There’s something about a France-New Zealand November clash and all the more so on a Saturday night. This could be the match of the month. France do not have an especially good head-to-head record against the All Blacks, winning 14, drawing one and losing 48 of the 63 meetings.
In fact, before their last autumnal fixture in Paris three years ago, the All Blacks had beaten Les Bleus 14 times in succession, including three November visits to either Paris or Marseille, as well as some severe beatings along the way. The 62-13 win was bordering on cruel. There as a neutral observer, some of us had to leave early.
Yet France’s breakthrough win in 2021 by 40-25 in an astonishingly entertaining and fluctuating encounter in the Stade de France fuelled as much belief as their Grand Slam that they could win the World Cup on home soil.
Lest we forget too, Les Bleus deservedly put the All Blacks to the sword on the opening night at the World Cup as well, even if the way that tournament ultimately panned out could lend one to forget this – akin to Ireland beating the Springboks in the pool stages.
So rather than looking for revenge, France are seeking a third successive win over the All Blacks, something they last did in the 1990s. Strictly speaking therefore, unlike Ireland a week ago, Les Bleus are not seeing revenge. Yet, over a year on from their painful quarter-final, while a win would not erase those memories, it would offer France some redemption and banish some of those demons.
France warmed up for this game with a handsome win over Japan when also welcoming Antoine Dupont back to the fold, so look well primed. If Peato Mauvaka, Emmanuel Meafou, Gregory Alldritt et al can generate quick ball for the world’s best player, there’s every chance of a famous Parisian night.
Then again, the French are missing some of their other go-to game breakers. In the absence of Damian Penaud, Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Gabin Villiere are on the wings, while Thomas Ramos runs the show at outhalf in the absence of Romain Ntamack and Mathieu Jalibert. Fabien Galthié has also brought in the 27-year-old Bordeaux Begles fullback Romain Buros for his debut.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks are striving to continue their unbeaten end-of-year tour and add to the increasing feel-good factor under Scott Robertson with back-to-back victories over the Wallabies and now Japan, England and Ireland.
Despite his assured performance against Ireland, Damian McKenzie has been demoted to the bench once more with the fit-again Beauden Barrett restored, while it will be intriguing to see how the reshuffled All Blacks backrow of Samipeni Finau, Ardie Savea and Wallace Sititi perform. Many Kiwi observers believe number eight is Sititi’s best position.
There were also signs in the fallout of their win over Ireland that some of the old New Zealand rugby entitlement has returned, and coupled with wins by the Springboks and Australia, has revived the old chestnut about the great equator divide.
Bearing that in mind, and for the sake of northern hemisphere rugby and for the sake of the 2025 Six Nations, a victory for our fellow Europeans would probably be welcome, and cheered in clubhouses up and down the country.