[cbloom]

Wow, this has to be one of the classic NZ chokes. They totally dominated the game in every phase except defense. Their lineout, scrum, forwards, possession, just completely dominated France and it seemed they could have their way. Really bad luck with a man-down try and a forward pass, but it did seem like the NZ defense really came apart whenever the game got chaotic, and France just played really solid in defense.

You have to wonder how much is because they were never tested, their defense never had to face any pressure. They never really got the backs out running either which was a mistake in hindsight.

Interesting choice to have this 27 year old kid as the ref. He did okay but certainly there were some mistakes and that yellow card was borderline.