New Zealand vs France | Player Ratings
- 1683
New Zealand hang on to a 34-32 victory over France in the opening match of the 2026 Nations Championship. It was a classic test match, with the home side scoring 5 tries and France 4. Man of the match, Cameron Roigard, scored two tries.
Lets look at how the players performed.
New Zealand
15 Damian McKenzie-7/10 | The AB fullback came into the line nicely and got his wingers away.
14 Will Jordan-8/10 | Back with two tries to his name.
13 Quinn Tupaea-7/10 | Struggled a few times on defence.
12 Jordie Barrett-8/10 | Solid as always on attack.
11 Caleb Clarke-6/10 | Clarke had a quiet game.
10 Ruben Love-7/10 | Yellow card for a high tackle but got going when he returned.
9 Cam Roigard-8/10 | Man of the match performance with two tries.
View this post on Instagram
8 Ardie Savea (Captain)-9/10 | Captain my captain. Excellent game from Savea.
7 Luke Jacobson-8/10 | Strong carries and a offload to Jordan for his try.
6 Peter Lakai-8/10 | A try for the flanker. Monster on defence.
5 Sam Darry-8/10 | Not bad in the lineouts
4 Josh Lord-8/10 | Same as Darry
3 Fletcher Newell-8/10 | Solid in the scrums.
2 Codie Taylor-6/10 | A few lineout miss throws from Taylor.
1 Ethan de Groot-8/10 | The big man almost scored a try. Solid in the scrums
Replacements 8/10
16 Asafo Aumua
17 Xavier Numia
18 Tyrel Lomax
19 Jamie Hannah
20 Wallace Sititi
21 Cortez Ratima
22 Billy Proctor
23 Fehi Fineanganofo
France
15 Max Spring-8/10 | Looked right at place at 15.
14 Damian Penaud-7/10 | Penaud scored again for the National team but left the field after 41 minutes.
13 Fabien Brau-Boirie-8/10 | One for the future. Almost scored a great individual try.
12 Yoram Moefana-6/10 | Did the basics well.
11 Theo Attissogbe-7/10 | A try for the French winger.
10 Matthieu Jalibert-8/10 | The French General again had a great game. Scored a try, kicked two conversions and two penalties.
9 Maxime Lucu (captain)-7/10 | His pack did not get big momentum but he controlled the match very well.
8 Marko Gazzotti-6/10 | The number 8 was solid on defence, making 17/18 tackles.
7 Oscar Jegou-6/10 | Quiet game from Jegou.
6 Pierre Bochaton-7/10 | Only played 34 minutes. Did his work.
5 Tom Staniforth-6/10 | The man with the mullet. He brought the physicallity.
4 Hugo Auradou-6/10 | Was busy in the lineouts.
3 Demba Bamba-6/10 | No real dominance in the scrums.
2 Maxime Lamothe-7/10 | The French hooker has a good game
1 Jefferson Poirot-7/10 | Did a bit better than Bamba in the scrums
Replacements 7.5/10
16 Barnabe Massa
17 Reda Wardi
18 Regis Montagne
19 Mickael Guillard
20 Killian Tixeront
21 Nolann Le Garrec
22 Antoine Hastoy
23 Nicolas Depoortere
