In June 2013, France played a three-test series against New Zealand as part of the 2013 mid-year rugby test series. This was the sides' first encounter since they met in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, which New Zealand won 8–7. It was France's first test series against the All Blacks since their 2009 two-test tour of New Zealand, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
The tour began at the stadium where they last played each other, Eden Park in Auckland on 8 June. Following this, they played a mid-week match against the Auckland Super Rugby franchise, the Blues, at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on 11 June. The second test was played in Christchurch at Rugby League Park on 15 June, and the third test at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth on 22 June.
Fixtures Date Venue Home Score Away 8 June 2013 Eden Park, Auckland 23–13 11 June 2013 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland Blues 15–38 15 June 2013 Rugby League Park, Christchurch 30–0 22 June 2013 Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth 24-9
Squads
France On 14 May, head coach Philippe Saint-André named a 35-man squad for the fixtures against New Zealand and the Blues.France squad for 2013 New Zealand 3-test tour The selection created controversy when South African-born prop Daniel Kötze and flank Bernard Le Roux and Fijian-born wing Noa Nakaitaci (qualifying on residency grounds) were chosen ahead of in-form French-born players. The most notable absentees were wing Vincent Clerc (injured with his club), captain and lock Pascal Papé (injured during the Six Nations Championship) and fly-half François Trinh-Duc (deemed out of form, with Camille Lopez and Rémi Talès chosen ahead of him).
Wing Alexis Palisson withdrew from the squad due to injury and was replaced with Marc Andreu prior to the first test. Injured during the first test, flank Fulgence Ouedraogo also withdrew from the tour and was replaced in the squad by Damien Chouly.
Head coach: Philippe Saint-André
Caps and ages are to first Test (8 June 2013)
Note*: Chouly joined the squad between the first two tests after Ouedraogo came off injured in the first test.
New Zealand New Zealand 32-man squad for the 2013 mid-year series to be played against France. The squad includes Matt Todd, who is included as injury cover for Sam Whitelock—who is not expected to be available until the third Test. All players play Super Rugby and provincial rugby within New Zealand.
Prop Joe Moody was added to the squad as prop cover should all the original props not be available for the first test.
Head coach: Steve Hansen Caps and ages are to first Test (8 June 2013)
Background Following their later encounter in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final France and New Zealand had different fortunes.
France, under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Philippe Saint-André, endured a mixed 2012 Six Nations Championship (ending 4th with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses) which was the last outing of several key figures of the squad with the likes of Julien Bonnaire, Imanol Harinordoquy, Lionel Nallet, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Aurélien Rougerie, William Servat and Dimitri Yachvili playing their last games in the France jersey while only a couple of players (Wesley Fofana and Yoann Maestri) received their first caps. The Summer tour of Argentina then marked the rise of new players like Brice Dulin, Maxime Machenaud, Fofana and Maestri and saw the return in the mix of Thomas Domingo (who had missed on the World Cup due to injury), Yoann Huget (who had missed on the World Cup due to suspension) and Frédéric Michalak (back from his stint in Super Rugby after having fallen out of favour of French rugby) while experienced players like Vincent Clerc and Thierry Dusautoir were rested, the captaincy being handed to Pascal Papé. The Series was drawn 1-1. France then ended 2012 on a high with three straight wins in the Autumn Internationals over Australia, Argentina and Samoa, claiming the fourth spot in the IRB World Rankings which gave them First Seed status for the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw thus avoiding New Zealand, Australia and South Africa at pool stage. However the 2013 Six Nations Championship was a real disappointment as France ended up bottom of the table, claiming only one win and a draw with a squad that had not much evolved since the previous Summer - Antonie Claassen, Gaël Fickou, Jocelino Suta and Sébastien Vahaamahina being the only new caps while long-time absentees Mathieu Bastareaud and Yannick Nyanga were recalled. Philippe Saint-André stated that the Top 14 final being played just one week prior to the first test, players taking part in this final and thus joining the squad late would not feature in the first test.
New Zealand also started 2012 with a new head coach with former assistant coach Steve Hansen taking over Graham Henry's role. The All Blacks whitewashed Ireland during their Summer tour, winning the series 3-0 with a remarkable 60-0 victory in the third Test, their largest ever winning margin over Ireland. New Zealand followed with a perfect 2012 Rugby Championship - which featured Argentina for the first time - winning all six of their games. However their traditional Bledisloe Cup match in October put an end to their 16-game winning streak when they drew (18-18) with Australia. The All Blacks went on to hammer Scotland, Italy and Wales (scoring 30+ points each time) in the end-of-year tests before suffering their first defeat in two years at the hands of England on December 1. New Zealand however remained on top of the IRB World Rankings and were given Top Seed status for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Starting in January 2013, stalwart All Blacks captain Richie McCaw was granted a six-month sabbatical from rugby to try and extend his career up to the 2015 World Cup. He has thus not taken any part in the 2013 Super Rugby campaign nor will he take part in the mid-year tests series against France. He is due to resume his international career in the 2013 Rugby Championship after a few stints with his Christchurch club side.
Matches
FB 15Israel Dagg RW 14Ben SmithOC 13Conrad SmithIC 12Ma'a NonuLW 11Julian SaveaFH 10Aaron Cruden SH 9 Aaron Smith N8 8 Kieran Read (c)OF 7 Sam CaneBF 6 Liam MessamRL 5 Brodie RetallickLL 4 Luke RomanoTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements:HK 16Keven Mealamu PR 17Ben Franks PR 18Ben Afeaki LK 19Jeremy ThrushFL 20Victor VitoSH 21Tawera Kerr-Barlow FH 22Beauden Barrett CE 23Rene Ranger Coach: Steve Hansen FB 15Yoann HugetRW 14Adrien PlantéOC 13Florian Fritz IC 12Wesley FofanaLW 11Maxime MédardFH 10Camille Lopez SH 9 Maxime Machenaud N8 8 Louis PicamolesOF 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo BF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c)RL 5 Yoann Maestri LL 4 Sébastien VahaamahinaTP 3 Luc Ducalcon HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski LP 1 Thomas Domingo Replacements:HK 16Guilhem Guirado PR 17Vincent Debaty PR 18Daniel Kötze LK 19Alexandre Flanquart FL 20Yannick Nyanga SH 21Jean-Marc Doussain FH 22Frédéric Michalak CE 23Maxime Mermoz Coach: Philippe Saint-André Man of the Match: Ben Smith (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland) James Leckie (Australia) Television match official: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Ben Afeaki earned his first full international cap for New Zealand Alexandre Flanquart, Daniel Kötze, Camille Lopez and Adrien Planté earned their first full international caps for France.
FB 15Marty McKenzieRW 14Frank HalaiOC 13Malakai FekitoaIC 12Jackson WillisonLW 11George MoalaFH 10Baden Kerr SH 9 Jamison Gibson-Park N8 8 Peter SailiOF 7 Brendon O'ConnorBF 6 Kane Barrett RL 5 Culum RetallickLL 4 Anthony Boric TP 3 Ofa Tu'ungafasi HK 2 James Parsons (c) LP 1 Sam Prattley Replacements:HK 16Quentin MacDonald PR 17Angus Ta'avao LK 18Liaki Moli LK 19Ronald RaaymakersFL 20Sean Polwart FH 21Chris Noakes CE 22Tevita Li SH 23Wayne Ngaluafe Coach: Sir John Kirwan FB 15Maxime Médard RW 14Noa NakaitaciOC 13Gaël FickouIC 12Maxime MermozLW 11Marc AndreuFH 10Rémi Talès SH 9 Jean-Marc Doussain N8 8 Antonie ClaassenOF 7 Bernard Le Roux BF 6 Yannick Nyanga (c) RL 5 Alexandre FlanquartLL 4 Christophe Samson TP 3 Nicolas Mas HK 2 Guilhem Guirado LP 1 Eddy Ben Arous Replacements:HK 16Benjamin Kayser PR 17Vincent Debaty PR 18Daniel Kötze LK 19Sébastien Vahaamahina N8 20Damien Chouly SH 21Frédéric Michalak FH 22Camille Lopez FB 23Brice Dulin Coach: Philippe Saint-André Touch judges: Richard Kelly (New Zealand) Sheldon Eden-Whaitiri (New Zealand) Television match official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Eddy Ben Arous, Bernard Le Roux, Noa Nakaitaci and Rémi Talès made their first senior appearance for France. However, as the match was not granted Test status, they remained uncapped. Having represented New Zealand on 24 occasions, Anthony Boric was the only full international among the Blues team.
FB 15Israel DaggRW 14Ben Smith OC 13Conrad SmithIC 12Ma'a NonuLW 11Julian Savea FH 10Aaron CrudenSH 9 Aaron Smith N8 8 Kieran Read (c)OF 7 Sam CaneBF 6 Liam Messam RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Luke RomanoTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements:HK 16Andrew Hore PR 17Tony Woodcock PR 18Ben Franks LK 19Jeremy Thrush FL 20Victor Vito SH 21Piri Weepu FH 22Beauden Barrett CE 23Rene Ranger Coach: Steve Hansen FB 15Maxime Médard RW 14Adrien PlantéOC 13Florian Fritz IC 12Wesley FofanaLW 11Yoann HugetFH 10Frédéric MichalakSH 9 Maxime Machenaud N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Bernard Le RouxBF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c)RL 5 Yoann MaestriLL 4 Christophe Samson TP 3 Nicolas Mas HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski LP 1 Thomas Domingo Replacements:HK 16Benjamin Kayser PR 17Vincent Debaty PR 18Luc Ducalcon LK 19Sébastien Vahaamahina FL 20Yannick Nyanga FB 21Brice Dulin FH 22Rémi Talès CE 23Mathieu Bastareaud Coach: Philippe Saint-André
Touch judges: Wayne Barnes (England) James Leckie (Australia) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Notes: Kieran Read (New Zealand) earned his 50th cap in this match. Jeremy Thrush (New Zealand), Bernard Le Roux and Rémi Talès (both France) made their international debuts. This was the first time New Zealand kept a clean sheet against France. New Zealand took an unassailable 2–0 lead in the test series.
FB 15Israel DaggRW 14Ben SmithOC 13Conrad SmithIC 12Ma'a Nonu LW 11Rene Ranger FH 10Dan CarterSH 9 Piri Weepu N8 8 Kieran Read (c)OF 7 Sam Cane BF 6 Victor Vito RL 5 Sam WhitelockLL 4 Luke RomanoTP 3 Owen FranksHK 2 Andrew Hore LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements:HK 16Keven Mealamu PR 17Tony Woodcock PR 18Ben FranksFL 19Steve Luatua N8 20Matt Todd SH 21Tawera Kerr-Barlow FH 22Beauden Barrett WG 23Charles Piutau Coach: Steve Hansen FB 15Brice DulinRW 14Marc AndreuOC 13Florian Fritz IC 12Wesley FofanaLW 11Yoann Huget FH 10Rémi Talès SH 9 Jean-Marc Doussain N8 8 Antonie Claassen OF 7 Damien ChoulyBF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c)RL 5 Yoann Maestri LL 4 Alexandre Flanquart TP 3 Nicolas Mas HK 2 Benjamin Kayser LP 1 Thomas Domingo Replacements:HK 16Dimitri Szarzewski PR 17Eddy Ben Arous PR 18Luc Ducalcon LK 19Sébastien Vahaamahina FL 20Bernard Le Roux SH 21Maxime Machenaud FH 22Camille Lopez CE 23Mathieu Bastareaud Coach: Philippe Saint-André Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland) Wayne Barnes (England) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Notes: Eddy Ben Arous earned his first full international cap for France in this match. Steve Luatua, Charles Piutau and Matt Todd earned their first full international caps for New Zealand in this match. Joe Moody and Francis Saili of New Zealand and Noa Nakaitaci of France failed to appear in any of the Tests thus remaining uncapped at the end of the tour. Having won the third Test, the All Blacks completed the tour clean sweep.
Aftermath Following the tour the All Blacks went on to record a perfect 2013 Rugby Championship against Argentina, Australia and South Africa with six wins out of six matches for the second time in a row in as many instances of the competition.