3. All Blacks Miss Captain Cane
The All Blacks squad was shaken to it’s foundations, just a day before their opening match of the Rugby World Cup. Captain Sam Cane picked up an injury in the All Blacks captain’s run, to close out their training week. An injury at the last possible moment, Cane’s absence was felt in the match’s latter stages, with their leader’s voice missing from the huddle when New Zealand tried to re-group.
Tupou Va’ai was brought in to start on the blindside flank, with Dalton Papali’i swapping across the back-row into Cane’s seven jersey. Va’ai had a relatively quiet game, despite being given a late opportunity to impress on the pinnacle stage. Papali’i had a handful of notable moments, with a series of dominant tackles asserting himself on the likes of Gabrielle Villiere and Antoine Dupont. The duo worked well to halt Dupont’s tricky runs from the back of the scrum, yet lacked the go-forward in attack to make any significant dent over the French gain-line.
The presence of Sam Cane would in no way have guaranteed a New Zealand victory, but he would have levelled out the heads after taking an early lead, and also when the All Blacks went behind. The All Blacks newcomers seemed over-eager to force a contribution, with prop Ethan de Groot notably knocking on the ball after cascading towards the gain-line at pace. This followed de Groot’s attempt at redemption, after giving away two scrum penalties against Uini Antonio, who schooled the young prop in Paris.
4. Another Key Player Injured for France, Yet Replacement Shines To Calm Nerves
Another high profile injury seems on the cards for France, as Hooker Julien Marchand vacated the Stade de France in the first half. Following on from the injuries to Ntamack, Cyrill Baille, Jonathan Danty and Paul Willemse, French hearts sunk when Marchand was forced off the pitch after a scrum collapse.
An integral part of Les Bleus’ front row, Marchand was later seen on the substitutes bench with ice on his leg. However, the introduction of Peato Mauvaka did not lessen the French pack, with the 26-year-old impressing on his run out against New Zealand. Mauvaka’s first contribution saw him exchange glances with Dupont, to run a pre-meditated short line-out, and breakaway along the left wing.
Mauvaka presented his footballing skills with a nice chip into the back-field, and an off-the-ball challenge halted his following chase, which was much to the annoyance of the French supporters. Mauvaka combined well with Uini Antonio, with the tighthead prop leading the scrums in the absence of Cyrill Baille’s shouts. France’s hard-hitting back-rower Gregory Alldritt also briefly scared Galthie’s physios, yet a brief ice compress was all the number eight needed, to finish a bruising contest between the All Blacks and Blues.