Crotty bags landmark as All Blacks hang on in Paris

They went on to add two more after they became the first nation in international history to reach that landmark. They outscored France by five tries to two in the end as they made it 11 wins in a row over Les Blues as they kicked-off their European tour with a 38-18 triumph.

France managed to win the second half 13-7, but only after they had conceded four first half tries and trailed 31-5 at the break. As well as their five tries, the All Blacks also had another immaculate goalkicking display from outside half Beauden Barrett, who converted all five tries and landed a penalty for a 100% record with the boot, to applaud.

Steve Hansen brings his side to Cardiff for the third round of the 2017 Under Armour Series on Saturday, 25 November. Next week they play Scotland at Murrayfield before heading to the Welsh capital.

“The French were good enough to put us under pressure. We lost our discipline and, as a result of that, we allowed the momentum to shift,” said All Blacks head coach, Hansen.

“I was very happy with the way we fought our way through it and we scored enough points in the first half to get the job done. It’s very difficult on sporting occasions for any team to hold the momentum for the duration of the contest.

“Once we lost it the French team got confidence and put us under pressure. We gave 11 penalties away in the second half and some of them were for pretty basic things like being offside.”

There was another basic error from Sonny Bill Williams in the second half when he conceded a penalty try for hitting a cross-kick out of play in his own in-goal area in rugby league style. Not only did that gift the French seven points, but it also earned him a yellow card.

The All Blacks enjoyed 73 per cent of the territory before half-time, but that figure was reduced to a staggering 12 per cent in the second half as the French, fielding six new caps, gathered confidence and momentum.

Barrett set up the first two tries as he displayed the full array of his distribution skills. Hooker Dane Coles grabbed the first try and then wing Waisake Naholo got a second. France then responded with a slick team try from Teddy Thomas.

Australian referee Angus Gardner sent home prop Rabah Slimani to the sin-bin in the 33^rd minute after getting fed-up with problems at the scrum and while he was on the sideline the All Blacks struck with tries from Crotty and flanker Sam Cane.

The French revival in the second half saw them reduce the gap to 13 points at 31-18 thanks to penalties either side of the penalty try from debutant outside half Anthony Belleau. Naholo’s second try at the death made victory secure for the tourists.

Wales’ final Under Armour Series opponents, South Africa, found themselves on the end of a record defeat against Ireland in Dublin as they went down 38-3. They conceded three tries in the final 10 minutes and will now look to get back to wining ways in France and Italy before coming to the Principality Stadium on Saturday, 2 December.

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