New Zealand and France faced off in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash at the Millennium Stadium,
The contest was a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final when the All Blacks defeated Les Bleus in a narrow 8-7 triumph to secure their second crown.
However, the quarter-final clash proved to be a one-sided affair as New Zealand booked their place in the semi-finals of the competition courtesy of a crushing 62-13 victory, scoring nine tries to set up a clash against South Africa next week.
Read how all the action unfolded in our commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Rugby World Cup quarter-final clash between New Zealand and France.
The Millennium Stadium is the stage for the rematch of the 2011 final when the Kiwis were victorious over France in Auckland with a narrow 8-7 victory to win their second World title. Les Bleus have a chance to avenge their defeat tonight in their battle to reach the last four of the tournament.
New Zealand have been in imperious form so far in the competition and came through their Pool C matches with ease, recording four victories and scoring 149 points. Steve Hansen's men were only tested by Argentina in their group games, which could give the head coach cause for concern as his side have not played top-flight opposition so far in the tournament. The early stages of the game will be key for the All Blacks to regain their attacking rhythm against the power of the French pack.
France were crushed in their last match against Ireland as Phillipe Saint-Andre's men failed to rise to the challenge of the Irish's aggressive play in the second half of their contest. As a result, they have been faced with a tough route back to the final of the compeitition where they will have to defeat the All Blacks and then South Africa. There have been reports of dissent in the French camp ahead of the match, with the players growing restless under the regime of Saint Andre. Les Bleus's performance in the opening minutes of the match could well dictate if those reports are true.
Dan Lewis reports from the Millennium Stadium:
"Wales may have left the World Cup party a little earlier, but there is still a real buzz around Cardiff this evening.
"Plenty of New Zealand and France supporters are in attendance - as you would expect - but a large contingent of Irish fans are also present. A case of hedging their bets prior to the group stage concluding, perhaps?"
Let's take a look at the confirmed linups this evening, starting with the All Blacks.
NEW ZEALAND: Crockett, Coles, Franks; Retallick, Whitelock; Kaino, McCaw, Read; A Smith, Carter, Savea, Nonu, C Smith, Milner-Skudder, B Smith
Replacements: Mealamu, Moody, Faumuina, Vito, Cane, Kerr-Barlow, Barrett, Williams
Replacements: Mealamu, Moody, Faumuina, Vito, Cane, Kerr-Barlow, Barrett, Williams
Captain Richie McCaw returns to the starting linuep after being rested for his side's win over Tonga last time out, while Ma'a Nonu keeps his place in the team at centre ahead of Sonny Bill Williams to partner Conrad Smith in the midfield. ehe Milner-Skudder and Julian Savea provide an attacking threat from the wings.
FRANCE: Arous, Guirado, Slimani; Pape, Maestri; Dusautoir, Le Roux, Picamoles; Parra, Michalak, Dulin, Fofana, Dumoulin, Nakaitaci, Spedding
Replacements: Szarzewski, Debaty, Mas, Chouly, Nyanga, Kockott, Tales, Bastareaud
Replacements: Szarzewski, Debaty, Mas, Chouly, Nyanga, Kockott, Tales, Bastareaud
France have made drastic chages to their side for the clash this evening as scrum-half Sebastien Tillous-Borde is left out of the squad completely, allowing Morgan Parra to be promoted to the starting role. Centre Mathieu Bastareaud is dropped to the bench and is replaced in the midfield by Alexandre Dumoulin. There's also a change at flanker as Bernard Le Roux replaces Damien Chouly on the open side.
Dan Lewis reports from the Millennium Stadium:
"This is a fixture containing plenty of history - not least at a World Cup. In fact, tonight will see France and New Zealand face off at this showpiece competition for a record seventh time; the last coming in 2011's final.
"They met at this very stage, at this very ground, eight years ago. Les Bleus came out on top on that occasion, but it will take an almighty effort for a repeat of that tonight."
France captain Thierry Dusatoir has insisted that his side are more than capable of defeating the All Blacks this evening.
"You always have reasons to believe," he told reporters. "I have played 11 or 12 times against the All Blacks and not once were we favourites. But that didn't stop us from beating them."
Saint-Andre has revealed his reasoning for selecting Parra ahead of Tillous-Borde at scrum-half tonight.
"Morgan's a big competitor. We're counting on his leadership skills, especially with the forwards," Saint-Andre told reporters.
"I expect first we get more ball than last week because the set-piece wasn't good. We need more ball and to use it and play rugby. Last week, we were 70% in defence and only 30% in attack."
Hansen has insisted that his side have to make their own history in this tournament, despite their triumph at the World Cup over Les Bleus four year ago.
He told reporters: "The big boys have to step up to the plate and the team that does this the best will move through to the next round. It's as simple as that. [We have to] make our own history".
France will be determined to produce a similar performance to the one they knocked the All Blacks out of the 2007 World Cup at this ground eight years ago. Dusautoir notched one of the two tries that Les Bleus recorded in the quarter-final clash to edge a narrow 20-18 victory.
Dan Lewis is in position at the Millennium Stadium ahead of kickoff.
Dan Lewis gives us his thoughts ahead of the game:
"Kickoff fast approaching, then, and nerves no doubt beginning to grow in both of those dressing rooms. As a neutral I'm just hoping for a tight game that provides plenty of entertainment, but anything other than an All Blacks win is unlikely."
Les Bleus face a massive challenge to stop the relentless New Zealand attack this evening. The standard of their play in the second half of their defeat to Ireland suggests that the All Blacks should coast their way into the semi-finals, but the French are very unpredictable and do have the talent at their disposal to spring a surprise tonight.
The players are out for the anthems, so we should be underway shortly.
Anthems are over, now time for the Haka!
The French remain unmoved by the Haka as the All Black are allowed to do perform their pre-match ritual without incident. Kickoff just seconds away.
KICKOFF! We're underway at the Millennium Stadium.
Carter sends the ball deep and the All Blacks signal their intent by winning the ball back from the kickoff, giving them an early attacking platform.
Nonu collects the ball on the left side of the pitch and bustles through two tackles to raid inside the 22. He gets brought down 10 metres short of the line, and the All Blacks work the ball from left to right looking for space in the French defensive line. Les Bleus hold firm and Carter tries to send Savea in behind with a grubber kick, but his effort is grabbed by Dulin and France clear the danger.
New Zealand keep the pressure up on the French defensive line with a fresh attack down the middle. Les Blues hold firm once again and Le Roux makes the crucial play to earn the turnover for his side, and they managed to get the ball clear through the boot of Parra.
The All Blacks earn the chance to take the lead as Dusatoir commits a penalty at the breakdown, which allows Carter an attempt at the posts.
PENALTY! New Zealand 3-0 France (Carter)
Carter is the best in the business and he makes no mistake by firing his first kick of the night between the posts. The All Blacks have an early lead.
Dan Lewis reports from the Millennium Stadium:
"New Zealand make their intentions known from the start, really getting at their opponents and failing to allow them to breath. A deserved penalty kicked over is the least they deserve, but you always expect the All Blacks to move up a few gears should they need to."
France hit back with a solid move down the middle, but with little pressure on the All Blacks' defensive line, Retallick commits an error at the breakdown and Spedding will go for the posts from distance.
PENALTY! New Zealand 3-3 France (Spedding)
A great kick from Spedding as he shows the the strength of his leg by sending his effort through the posts from the half-way line. The ball needed a little help going over as his kick struck the inside of the right upright to go through, but it's all the same on the scoreboard.
TRY! New Zealand 10-3 France (Retallick)
Disaster for France as Michalak's kick is charged down by Retallick and the lock chases the ball down before scooping it up and racing over for the simple score. Matters are made even worse for France as Michalak goes down clutching his groin and is forced off the field. Carter displays his pinpoint accuracy by sending the conversion through the posts. Major problems for Saint-Andre's men.
An unusual mistake from McCaw gives France the chance to reduce the deficit as he charges into the ruck from the side. Parra will take over kicking duties from Michalak and he has over 350 international points, so he is no rookie.
PENALTY! New Zealand 10-6 France (Parra)
Calm as you like from Parra as sends the ball through the posts with relative ease and France are back four points of the All Blacks.
Sloppy play again from New Zealand as Ben Smith gets isolate on a raid forward out of his 22 and the full-back is penalised, allowing Les Bleus another kick at the posts from close range.
MISS! Horrible miss from Parra as from 20 metres out he sends his kick wide of the posts. Not what France needed after getting themsevles back into the contest.
France are beginning to display their power and speed around the pitch as Nakaitaci does well to outleap Savea for the ball down the right wing, and then Picamoles blasts through a couple of tackles to break over the gainline. It does not lead to any points for Les Bleus, but a good sign of intent from them after the fast start from the All Blacks.
TRY! New Zealand 17-6 France (Milner-Skudder)
New Zealand extend their lead out of nothing as they spread the ball out to the right and Conrad Smith offloads to Nonu, who in turn finds Milner-Skudder 25 metres out. The winger created the try for himself by showing incredible skill to cut back on the dime and speed past Dulin and Spedding before diving for the line. Great skill by the 24-year-old and Carter ensures that his side take the maximum points by sending his kick through the posts.
Dan Lewis reports from the Millenium Stadium:
"It was starting to look very promising for Les Bleus, with a number of promising attacks. It was shaping up to be a little sloppy, which would suit France just nicely, but that second try has given the world champions some room to breathe."
New Zealand gain a promising attacking platform from a penalty an then lose it within seconds as Crockett decides to collapse on top of the ruck for no apparent reason and hand a penalty back to Les Bleus to allow them to clear their lines.
TRY! New Zealand 24-6 France (Savea)
New Zealand extend their lead with their third try of the evening, and although Savea will go down in the book as the scorer the try is all down to superb play from Carter. The All Blacks build down the left and the fly-half collects the ball and drives forward. Nakaitaci comes back to make the tackle, but Carter offloads the ball out of the back of his hand to the on-rushing wing, who is left with a simple touch down for the score.
The All Blacks continue their drive forward as Carter seizes on a mistake by Pape as he tries to offload the ball out of the back of his hand. The fly-half speeds to the half-way line, and although Spedding brings him down, he gets the ball out to Nonu, who sends his pass to Savea and Hansen's men continue down the flank.
TRY! New Zealand 24-13 France (Picamoles)
France get back in the game as they manage capitalise on a knock-on from the All Blacks to surge downfield through Picamoles. Les Bleus put together several phases of attack before they finally charged over the line as Picamoles seized on the loose ball and drove over the line, despite being tackled by two defenders. Parra sends the ball over to bring his side within points.
TRY! New Zealand 29-13 France (Savea)
Power from Savea to score the All Blacks' fourth try of the game. The wing takes the offload in an attacking move down the left and he fends off the tackle of Nakaitaci before brushing off the challenge of Spedding. Ben Arous tried to stop him before the line, but the 25-year-old had too much power for the prop and was able to dive down in the corner. Incredible strength from the wing. A rare miss for Carter from the conversion as he sends his kick wide of the posts.
HALF-TIME: New Zealand 29-13 France
New Newland hold a 16-point lead at the break as they first-half display has been simply breathtaking. The quality of their finishing in the final third has been outstanding as both wingers Julian Savea and Nehe Milner-Skudder have notched impressive solo tries, while Brodie Retallick also crossed the line with an individual effort. France have not played badly, but the All Blacks have simply outplayed them in all areas of the game. Louis Picamoles has been the bright spot for Les Bleus as he scored an impressive try, but he cannot take on this time single-handed.
Dan Lewis reports from the Millennium Stadium:
"Wow. How about that from the world champions - a truly special side. Believe it or not, the 29 points racked up by the All Blacks in the opening 40 minutes is the most ever accumulated in the first half of a knockout match, leaving France with the biggest of mountains to climb."
RESTART! France get us back underway in this quarter-final clash.
Fofana breaks over the gainline for Les Bleus, but he lacks enough support to turn the break into a score. Support comes eventually from his teammates, who try to work the ball over to the right side, but the All Blacks turn the ball over and clear their lines.
France make another break over the gainline and Remi Tales kicks the ball into the New Zealand 22. Aaron Smith manages to gather the ball under pressure and Carter puts it into touch, but Les Bleus have an attacking lineout.
France have a penalty as the maul comes down with McCaw the guilty the party, but Picamoles is too aggressive in his attempts to get the ball quickly from the All Blacks captain and the decision could well be reversed here.
YELLOW CARD! Picamoles put his fist in the face of McCaw, and although not a punch, it's enough to send him, rightfully, to the sin bin for the next 10 minutes. New Zealand get a chance to clear their lines from their own 22 and put the game beyond doubt by attacking the 14 men of France.
Dulin takes an age to collect the ball inside his 22 and then decides to kick the ball under pressure. Ben Smith charges down the kick and the chase is on to the tryline. However, the ball wins the race as it rolls out of touch just before the full-back can place it down.
TRY! New Zealand 34-13 France (Kaino)
New Zealand are in for their fifth try of the match as Ben Smith breaks down the right and drags all of the France defenders over, which allows the All Blacks to recycle the ball quickly to the left. Nonu tries to go himself, but he gets brought down. However, Kaino takes over down the sideline and he walks in for the score. Carter misses again from the conversion by sending his kick just short of the posts.
Dan Lewis reports on the latest New Zealand try:
"Well that Picamoles-McCaw incident certainly provided this game with an extra edge. France have done well this half - they haven't played that badly all evening, to be fair - but it appears as thought any momentum that was beginning to build has now gone thanks to that fifth All Blacks try."
An error from Whitelock hands France an attacking platform to get a try back. It will be a long way back for them, but they have to start somewhere with a scrum just outside the 22.
TRY! New Zealand 41-13 France (Savea)
Savea secures his hat-trick and surely a place for his side in the semi-finals of the competition as the All Blacks turn the ball over and the winger is allowed to speed down the left flank and touch the ball down under the posts. The French gave up chasing from the 30-metre line, Hansen's men are in cruise control now.
France need to stay in the game here otherwise this could get embarrassing for them tonight. They cannot afford to give up like they did on Savea's run to ensure they end the tournament with some dignity.
TRY! New Zealand 48-13 France (Read)
Read notched his side's seventh try of the match as Whitelock powers through the line and offloads the ball into the path of Faumuina. The prop carries the ball to the five-metre line before he gets brought down, but he just manages to get the into the hands of Read, who crosses the line with ease.
TRY! New Zealand 55-13 France (Kerr-Barlow)
The high quality of rugby continues from the All Blacks as they score their eighth try of the match. Quick hands in the passing game sees Nonu burst through a gap and although he gets brought down, Kerr-Barlow finishes the job by collecting his offload and running in for the score.
Dan Lewis reports from the Millennium Stadium:
"Somebody needs to throw the towel in. This became embarrassing a long time ago, with New Zealand truly running riot. I make that eight tries now - four in either half - but with over 10 minutes left to play we could still see a few more. What a display by the world champions."
TRY! New Zealand 62-13 France (Kerr-Barlow)
Well.... If it wasn't embarrassin for the French before it has to be now as the All Blacks have marched in for their ninth, that is ninth try of the match. The speed of their passing is just too much for the weary tacklers of Les Bleus and Kerr-Barlow collects the ball from Moody down the left sideline and he eases under the posts for the score.
Ben Smith comes within two metres of adding another score as he raids into space down the right sideline and kicks the ball over the French defence. The full-back gets a kind bounce and is able to take the ball in stride, but Spedding gets back to make the crucial tackle to stop the try, and Smith knocks the ball on as he tries to offload to Nonu. If anyone deserves a score this evening it's Nonu.
The game is meandering to a slow finish here, although a sight for New Zealand fans to squirm at as Carter takes a painful hit, but he manages to get to his feet.
Nonu almost gets his score as he speeds through a gap in the French defence and then bursts through a one-armed tackle, and is held up slightly. The centre tries to reach over the line for the score, but he fumbles the ball and Les Bleus will have a scrum.
FULL-TIME: New Zealand 62-13 France
New Zealand canter into the semi-finals with one of the most dominant performances seen in the knockout stage of the World Cup. The All Blacks scored nine tries in the contest with sublime attacking rugby as Julian Savea notched a hat-trick, while Tawera Kerr-Barlow got two scores late in the game. Nehe Milner-Skudder, Kieran Read, Brodie Retallick and Jerome Kaino also got on the scoresheet. Steve Hansen's have well and truly establised themselves as the team to beat in the tournament and South Africa will have their work cut out to defeat them to reach the final.
France were in the game in the first half, but were completely blown away by the quality of New Zealand's play in the second half. Philippe Saint-Andre's future will now be under immense scrutiny as well reports of unrest in the camp ahead of today's match, but several of his squad will also face questions over their places in the national side. The next few weeks will be an interesting time for French rugby.
Thanks for joining our commentary this evening, until next time, goodbye.
