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M. Paul (14', 71'), S. Tuliau-Tua'a (28'), A. Sititi (66'), B. Sorensen-McGee (69')
Tries
M. Lazarko (5'), A. Grando (22')
B. Sorensen-McGee (14', 29', 70')
Conversions
C. Arbez (22')
This was the course correction after Hamilton’s 81–12 mayhem. The Black Ferns rotated, rebalanced, and trusted the less glamorous parts of the game to control a much tidier France. Set-piece surety, a cleaner exit game and a disciplined kick chase replaced the carnival. It worked, not with spectacle, but with grip.
Selection told you the plan. Ruahei Demant back at 10 and Tara Turner starting at 9 signalled field position over fireworks. Mererangi Paul came in on the right wing to lead the chase and pressure the French backfield, with Shyrah Tuliau-Tua'a shifted to the left for balance. In the pack, first home start back from injury for Layla Sae and the promotion of Laura Bayfield at lock tightened the spine. Whitney Hansen had said, “For us, it’s about being better again… rather than chasing outcomes.” This was that, played out over 80 minutes.
France did respond. Eight changes brought more shape, line-speed and resolve. They were connected for an hour, scrambled well and refused to feed the chaos that killed them last week. But when the game compressed into territory and collisions, New Zealand’s discipline, tackle output and ability to win the kicking battle set the stage for the separation that came late.
The difference was a platform you can trust. Georgia Ponsonby hit her jumpers (10/12 collectively) and the scrum was stable enough (9/10) to play off exits and corners. Bayfield’s 22 tackles mattered in that middle third, soaking up French carriers and keeping the Ferns out of their own red zone. With Demant steering calmly and Turner crisp to halfway, France were asked to build multi-phase launches from deep against a black wall with line-speed. They couldn’t do it consistently.
Out wide, the backfield was owned by the black 15 and 14 shirts. Braxton Sorensen-McGee ran 129 metres and picked his moments to counter, while Paul’s chase made France hurry. That pressure showed up in the penalty ledger and in how France’s back three were turned, particularly after kicks that landed contestable rather than long-and-out. When the bench arrived, it sharpened the edge: Maia Joseph brought clarity and tempo, and Hannah King added a composed second playmaker’s touch from 22.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
If the scoreboard blew out late, the pattern had been set much earlier. France struck first off early energy and again on 22 minutes through Anais Grando, who was their most incisive runner all night. New Zealand answered without panic: Paul finished on 14 minutes, Tuliau-Tua'a on 28, both off controlled pressure rather than broken-field lottery. That 14–12 interval felt like a fair reflection of France’s defensive improvement, but it also masked how much harder they were working for territory.
The turn came around the hour. France’s tackle count and indiscipline began to bite, and the Ferns’ bench didn’t wobble — it closed. Amarante Sititi punched through on 66 minutes, Sorensen-McGee finished three minutes later, and Paul iced it at 71. Those weren’t lottery wins; they were the yield on 60 minutes of field position and collisions. Sae’s work at the defensive breakdown (19 tackles and a neat releasing touch for a score) underpinned the squeeze, and Demant’s 12 tackles spoke to a 10 happy to live in the front line without the shape falling apart behind her.
France’s issues with cohesion in attack remain. The numbers back it up: as many defenders beaten as New Zealand but only half the clean breaks, a sign of carriers winning contacts without the system punching through. Carla Arbez had a hand in Grando’s try and kicked the extras, and there were bright flashes from Emilie Boulard, but too often momentum died on phase three or four. In the tight, Lea Champon and Lou Roboam emptied the tank defensively, yet that load never converted into sustained red-zone time.
Does the margin flatter New Zealand? A touch, in that France were in the fight to 60 and defended with far more control than last week. But the late burst wasn’t a freak event; it was earned by discipline (six penalties conceded to 12), a steadier set-piece and smarter kicking. If there’s a New Zealand work-on, it’s the 15 turnovers conceded — a few soft spills and overplays in midfield that better sides will punish in Christchurch.
Big picture, this told us something useful about the Ferns on their 150th Test night. They can win without the razzle, and they can trust a Demant-led plan that squeezes rather than sprays. For France, the repair job has started — the line was faster, the fold better, the collisions more even — but they still need answers under the high ball and a clearer framework to turn gain-line wins into line breaks. The decider in Christchurch on 31 October will ask the same questions. New Zealand already know their answers; France have six days to find theirs.
