OPINION: New Zealand sent out warning to future play-off opponents when they thrashed their so-called 'hoodoo' team, France, 62-13 in Cardiff.
The All Blacks played with great intensity throughout the 80 minutes and were in a different class to the French.
Warren Fortune rates the All Blacks!
15 Ben Smith
He was a menace when he joined the backline and like the rest of his
teammates he made plenty of metres on attack. He was also superb under
the high ball. A great performance by the fullback.
8/10
14 Nehe Milner-Skudder
His stepping made the French look like sitting ducks on a few occasions
and with his five runs he racked up 68 metres and beat three defenders.
He is fast becoming one of the stars of world rugby.
8/10
13 Conrad Smith
He was the quiet one in the All Blacks backline. He was solid in defence
in the midfield and got over the advantage line with some good runs.
6/10
12 Ma'a Nonu
A masterful performance by the centre. He seemed to do everything right
on field - he broke through a number of tackles and had a hand in two of
his team's tries.
10/10
11 Julian Savea
The world's best wing was simply awesome. He scored three tries by
bumping off French tacklers all over the park. He also made more metres
with ball in hand than any other player on the field.
9/10
10 Daniel Carter
A brilliant all-round performance by the flyhalf. He cut through the
French defence like a knife through butter on a few occasions and his
distribution to his backs was phenomenal. His offload to Savea for the
wing's first try was unbelievable.
9/10
9 Aaron Smith
He was at almost every breakdown ready to swing the ball to his backline
and his speed from the moment he picks up the ball to passing it was
quite incredible at times.
8/10
8 Kieran Read
The big No.8 showed some silky skills with ball in hand and also racked
up a few line-out steals. He got on the scoreboard as well with a great
try and bashed the French with some bone-crunching tackles.
8/10
7 Richie McCaw (captain)
He was at his annoying best at the breakdowns with his spoiling tactics.
He also put his body on the line by making plenty of tackles. However,
he would not be happy with his three missed tackles.
8/10
6 Jerome Kaino
He gave his team an extra line-out option and was industrious in the
physical exchanges. He got his team over the gain line and he got a try
as well.
8/10
5 Samuel Whitelock
Showed some great speed for such a big player and was good in the
line-outs as well. He formed a great partnership with Brodie Retallick.
7/10
4 Brodie Retallick
Showed just why he was the World Player of the Year last year. He
dominated the line-outs and gave his team the aggression they needed up
front. He got the game's first try with a good charge down on a Frederic
Michalak kick.
9/10
3 Owen Franks
Gave a good account of himself in the scrums and was a brick wall on
defence. However, he did not do enough in open play but then again he
did not need to.
7/10
2 Dane Coles
The speedy hooker looked for work all over the park and also made a
nuisance of himself in rucks. He also found his jumpers in the
line-outs.
7/10
1 Wyatt Crockett
It was a satisfactory performance by the prop before he was replaced early in the game but nothing to write home about.
6/10
Replacements:
16 Keven Mealamu (On for D Coles, 60 min)
He had a few carries in the 20 minutes he was on the field, however, it
was a quiet appearance off the bench by the veteran hooker.
6/10
17 Joe Moody (On for W Crockett, 28 min)
An awesome performance by the replacement prop. He was difficult to stop with the ball and he was strong in the scrums
7/10
18 Charlie Faumuina (On for O Franks, 51 min)
Was a demon in defence when he came on and showed a clean pair of heels with in his try assist late in the game.
7/10
19 Victor Vito (On for J Kaino, 65 min)
Not enough time to be rated.
20 Sam Cane (On for R McCaw, 68 min)
Not enough time to be rated.
21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow (On for A Smith, 65 min)
Fifteen minutes is really not enough time to be rated. However, and this
may seem unfair to others, he scored two tries and made more running
metres than some who played longer. It was a good cameo by the
scrumhalf.
7/10
22 Beauden Barrett (On for N Milner-Skudder, 40 min)
He looked a bit out of sorts in the back three and did not have the work rate like the player he replaced.
4/10
He had a couple of good runs where he made some serious metres and one of his offloads were of the highest quality.
6/10


