History Of Rugby Union Matches Between France And New Zealand
The national rugby union teams of France and New Zealand (the All Blacks) have been playing each other for over a century; as of the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final on 23 October 2011, they have played 51 Test matches against each other. The first encounter, which was also France's first Test, took place in Paris in January 1906 and was won by New Zealand 38–8. It was not until 1954 that France secured their first win over New Zealand (3–0).
France first toured New Zealand in 1961 – before any of the Home Nations – and the All Blacks won all three Tests. The All Blacks' first full tour of France was in 1977, when they won one of the two Tests. France first defeated the All Blacks in New Zealand on Bastille Day 1979. The teams also met at the inaugural Rugby World Cup final in 1987 at Eden Park in Auckland, which was won by the All Blacks 29–9. France achieved a first series win in New Zealand in 1994, when they won both Tests. The teams again met in the 1999 Rugby World Cup, but this time in the semi-finals. The match was hosted at Twickenham Stadium, where France overcame a 24–10 deficit to win 43–31. Since 2000, the two teams have contested the Dave Gallaher Trophy, which the All Blacks held until being defeated 27 - 22 by France in Dunedin on 13 June 2009 in the first Test of France's 2009 tour. The teams played twice in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, both at Eden Park; the All Blacks won 37–17 in pool play and 8–7 in the final.
Overall, the All Blacks have won 38 Tests against France's 12, with one match drawn. The largest winning margin in a Test between the countries was a 61–10 victory to the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium in Wellington in 2007. The most career points scored by members of either team is 92 by Andrew Mehrtens; he also holds the record for points in one match with 29.
Despite the vastly superior win record of New Zealand in this encounter, France has the greatest number of wins against the All Blacks of any Northern Hemisphere opponent to date. France are sometimes called the "boogie" team of New Zealand, known for having inconsistent results in regular test matches, but have proven to be fierce opponents in the knockout stage of the Rugby World Cup. All Black campaigns in The Rugby World Cup were halted by defeats to France in 1999 and 2007, and were nearly upset again in 2011 with a very narrow 8-7 victory in the final.
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