Ben Smith has praised his New Zealand teammates for their clinical nature after cruising to a record victory over France at the Millennium Stadium.

The All Blacks put bad memories over their last quarter-final clash at the venue against Les Blues firmly behind them by picking up a 62-13 win in South Wales.

New Zealand have now won 12 in succession at the Rugby World Cup, equalling Australia's previous record, while also recording the biggest winning margin ever in the knockout stages of the competition.

Speaking to Sports Mole after the game, Smith said: "The first 20 or 30 minutes, [France] did manage to put us under a bit of pressure. At the same time we took the opportunities that we had and that was probably the difference between the two teams.

"They definitely tested us defensively a few times and really threw the ball around, but we just managed to get a few tries there and then kick on."

Next up for New Zealand is a meeting with South Africa at Twickenham next Saturday.