New Zealand opened the Nations Championship with a dramatic victory over France in Christchurch
New Zealand opened the first edition of rugby’s Nations Championship on Saturday, 4 July 2026, in Christchurch with a 34:32 victory against France, in a match that immediately showed why the new competition was designed as a permanent stage for the biggest international rivalries. According to the official match record of New Zealand Rugby, the encounter was played at One New Zealand Stadium, began at 19:10 local time NZST and ended with five All Blacks tries against four French ones. The first half belonged to the home national team 19:13, but the course of the match was far more uncertain than the impression sometimes given by the mere fact that New Zealand were playing on their home ground. France remained within reach of a comeback until the final minutes, and Matthieu Jalibert’s late try turned the finish into a test of nerves for Dave Rennie’s side. For the All Blacks, it was a victory at the start of a new competitive and coaching phase, but not a routine confirmation of their status as favourites.
The first edition of the new global competition began without a safe script for the favourites
The Nations Championship is presented in the official description of the competition as a biennial tournament in which two groups of national teams meet, one connected with the northern hemisphere and the other with the southern hemisphere, with matches in July and November and a final weekend. According to the official competition website, the format brings together twelve national teams: the six members of the Six Nations, namely England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, and a group made up of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Japan. That is precisely why the match in Christchurch was not only the start of the season for the All Blacks, but also the symbolic start of a project that should give more structure to the traditional summer and autumn tests. According to the calendar published by the official competition website, after France New Zealand play against Italy in Wellington and Ireland in Auckland in the July block. Every point from the opening round therefore carries weight beyond an individual result, especially in a system that leads towards standings and a final weekend.
The broader context of the competition had already provoked different reactions before the start. The organisers present it as a way to connect the biggest test-rugby clashes more often into an understandable whole, while Sky Sports, in its explanation of the format, stated that the tournament seeks to fit into the international windows between World Cups and British and Irish Lions tours. At the same time, The Guardian warned ahead of the first round about logistical and sporting objections, including unusual travel schedules and debates over player workload. The match between New Zealand and France therefore had a double role from the start: to open a new commercial and competitive product, but also to show on the field whether the tournament can produce drama that justifies great expectations. The 34:32 result gave a strong argument to those who believe that duels between the best national teams will create additional value, although questions about the calendar and player availability will not disappear after one spectacular encounter.
France struck immediately, Jordan and Roigard turned the rhythm of the match
According to the New Zealand Rugby report, France shocked the hosts after only 78 seconds. After a quick move and the spreading of play towards the wing, Damian Penaud scored the first try of the match, and the opening blow for the All Blacks was made even heavier because Ruben Love received a yellow card for a high tackle on Max Spring. Such an entry into the encounter showed that the French team, although not in the strongest possible line-up, had not come merely to limit the damage. Organised distribution of the ball, especially through Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert, kept New Zealand under pressure in the early phases. During that period the home defence did not always find the right closing angle, and in the opening minutes the match had already gained a speed that is rarely maintained throughout an entire test.
New Zealand nevertheless came back through what they had also announced as an important element of the new phase: more ball-in-hand play, more attacking width and more patient construction of phases. According to the official All Blacks report, Ardie Savea, after pressure close to the French line, quickly took a penalty and opened space for a move that ended with a long pass from Jordie Barrett towards Will Jordan. Jordan scored his first try of the evening in the eighth minute, and the official New Zealand Rugby report states that it was his 46th try in his test career for the All Blacks. After that, the home side increasingly looked to move the ball through several channels, so one deep move from their own half also produced Peter Lakai’s try in the 20th minute. Near the end of the first half, Cam Roigard exploited space after pressure from a line-out and a grounding close to the posts, which sent New Zealand into the break with a 19:13 lead.
The French response extended the uncertainty until the final moments
France did not disappear from the match after the break. According to the New Zealand Rugby report, in the 46th minute Jalibert, with a quality move on the narrow side, helped open space for Antoine Hastoy, who received an inside pass from Théo Attissogbe and brought the visitors back into a completely equal position. New Zealand responded almost immediately, again through Roigard, who scored his second try after a new combination involving Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea. That exchange of blows was a key part of the match: every time the hosts tried to establish control, France found a way to quicken the rhythm or exploit a mistake in the field. In the 59th minute, according to the same official report, Attissogbe reduced the deficit to just one point with another French try.
The match was then decided in details typical of the biggest tests: the fight to exit from one’s own 22 metres, pressure after high balls, security at the line-out and the speed of reaction after lost possession. New Zealand Rugby states that the home side’s bench brought an important impulse in the final quarter, especially in the move in which Love and Billy Proctor helped win the ball after French pressure. Wallace Sititi then involved Luke Jacobson, and Jacobson found Jordan in support for a try that gave New Zealand an important cushion in the 70th minute. Sky Sports pointed out that Jordan’s second try raised his tally to 47 tries for the All Blacks, only two fewer than Doug Howlett’s record. Even then, however, the match was not settled, because Jalibert broke through near the posts two minutes before the end, and Hastoy’s converted kick reduced the difference to the final 34:32.
Rennie won the first match, but also received a list of problems for what follows
The victory had special meaning for New Zealand because, according to New Zealand Rugby’s announcement from March 2026, Dave Rennie was appointed head coach of the All Blacks until the 2027 World Cup and became the team’s first head coach of Pasifika origin. Sky Sports described the encounter in Christchurch as his winning start to the mandate, but also as a match in which signs of unfinished cohesion could be seen. In attack, the All Blacks showed a clear intention to move away from an overly predictable approach and to keep the ball alive through more players. At the same time, passing errors, the early yellow card and several defensive gaps left the impression of a team still searching for stability. Rennie got the result, but also material for very concrete work before the continuation of the July block.
The most positive part of New Zealand’s evening was the performance of their key carriers of play. Will Jordan, with two tries, confirmed why he is considered one of the most dangerous finishers in international rugby, while Cam Roigard, with two groundings, added extra dynamism to play from the nine position. Peter Lakai, with his try from a long move, showed how dangerous the All Blacks can be when support speed follows the first line of breaking through. Ardie Savea, as captain and number eight, according to the New Zealand Rugby report, had an important role in the early moments of the home side’s comeback, especially in the move that led to Jordan’s first try. However, the fact that France, with four tries and late pressure, remained in the contest until the very end is a reminder that the result does not erase all tactical shortcomings.
France, without some of their stars, showed depth and character
The French defeat has two sides. On the one hand, Fabien Galthié’s team lost a match in which they had early momentum, several periods of clear attacking superiority and a finish in which they pushed the favourites until the last minute. On the other hand, precisely such a performance confirmed the depth of the French squad. Sky Sports stated that France did not have Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey, while The Guardian wrote before the match that the French line-up was missing Toulouse players after the Top 14 finale, which meant that players from other club environments were used to a greater extent. Despite that, France scored four tries through Penaud, Hastoy, Attissogbe and Jalibert, and according to the official New Zealand Rugby summary Maxime Lucu added two conversions and two penalties.
Such an achievement is especially important because France in Christchurch played against a national team that traditionally rarely lets such matches slip at home. Sky Sports highlighted that New Zealand had not lost a home match against France since 2009, which further explains the weight of French resistance. Jalibert led the attack with enough courage to constantly look for space between New Zealand’s defensive lines, while Lucu provided rhythm and control. Attissogbe punished the hosts’ mistakes with speed and timely involvement, and Penaud’s early try set the emotional tone of the match. France remained without a victory, but left Christchurch with confirmation that even in a changed line-up they can play well enough to threaten one of the strongest national teams in the world.
Christchurch again received a major test night
One New Zealand Stadium had an important role beyond the result itself. According to stadium information published ahead of the event, this was the first All Blacks test at a major permanent stadium in the Canterbury region since the 2011 earthquake marked the end of the Lancaster Park era. That fact gave the encounter additional local weight, but in a global sporting context the match was also a message about Christchurch’s return to the map of the biggest rugby nights. The official stadium information stated that the duel with France was also the first of four All Blacks home matches in 2026 in New Zealand’s three largest urban markets. For the fans in the stadium, the two-point finish brought exactly the kind of tension that turns a sporting event into a broader memory.
From a sporting perspective, Christchurch received a match that contained almost all the elements of strong international rugby: an early shock, a card, open moves, comebacks, two home players with two tries each, a French return and a decision in the final minutes. The result gave New Zealand victory in the first round, but also a warning that the Nations Championship format will hardly forgive periods of lost concentration. France gained moral capital, but not points that could prove decisive in this kind of competition in November. According to the official Nations Championship schedule, the July block continues already next weekend, which means that both national teams have little time for analysis and adjustment. It is precisely the ability to correct mistakes quickly that will show whether the dramatic premiere in Christchurch was only opening fireworks or an early sign of a tournament in which every encounter will truly change the standings and ambitions.
Sources:
- New Zealand Rugby / All Blacks – official match report, course of the encounter, scorers and half-time (link)
- New Zealand Rugby / All Blacks – official match record New Zealand - France, date, stadium and result (link)
- Nations Championship – official description of the format, participants and competition schedule (link)
- Sky Sports – match report, context of Dave Rennie, Will Jordan and absences in the French team (link)
- One New Zealand Stadium – information about the event and the significance of the match for Christchurch and the Canterbury region (link)
- New Zealand Rugby / All Blacks – announcement of Dave Rennie’s appointment as head coach of the All Blacks (link)
- The Guardian – context of the start of the Nations Championship, logistical criticism and France’s line-up ahead of the match (link)