New Zealand were made to work hard for Tuesday’s 28-23 victory over a France XV in Lyon, but coach Steve Hansen declared himself satisfied with the exercise.
The fixture was a relatively unusual undertaking in the context of modern tours at this time of year and almost certainly ensured that it will be a full strength team that meets Scotland on Saturday as it provided an opportunity for the less experienced tourists to see some action.
“I was really proud of the young men, six of them were having their first game and there were probably another six who haven’t played more than four games,” said Hansen.
“They played some really good rugby, particularly early on in the game and there were periods were the French got momentum and they defended their hearts out. All in all mission accomplished.”
It was a tit-for-tat first half as Liam Squire and Matt Duffie both scored tries while Gabriel Lacroix, one of six uncapped players in the French side, cancelled both out before a Francois Trinh-Duc penalty nudged France ahead at the interval. Tries from Patrick Tuipulotu and Ngani Laumape then looked to have put the All Blacks in control at 28-15, but they were left hanging on after another Trinh-Duc penalty and a try from Henry Chavancy got the home side within a score.
The All Blacks are expected to name an entirely different starting line-up for the meeting with Scotland, however, reverting to the team that beat France 38-18 last weekend.
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