All Blacks vs France: History, Record and Iconic Matches

The rivalry between the All Blacks and France is the most compelling fixture New Zealand rugby has outside the Southern Hemisphere. Since the two nations first met in 1906, France has been the one Northern Hemisphere side capable of beating the All Blacks on the biggest stage — including two of the most painful defeats in New Zealand’s rugby history. This guide sets out the full head-to-head record, the matches that defined the rivalry, and how the two teams’ contrasting styles have shaped more than a century of test rugby.

The origins of a trans-hemisphere rivalry

The All Blacks and France began playing each other in an era when a tour of Europe meant weeks at sea and a punishing run of matches. Long before rugby union turned professional in 1995, New Zealand selectors valued France as a distinct challenge: the French game blended heavy, combative forward play with an instinctive, off-the-cuff attacking style that could unsettle a disciplined opponent. Over the twentieth century the two unions built the fixture through reciprocal tours, with New Zealand sides adapting from firm summer grounds at home to cold, heavy winter pitches in Paris, Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Those early tours were tight, physical affairs decided by narrow margins and dominated by scrum and breakdown battles. They also laid the groundwork for a mutual respect that still defines the rivalry: France admired New Zealand’s pace and handling, while the All Blacks learned to expect French sides to raise their game against them specifically.

The first meeting: Paris, 1 January 1906

The rivalry started on 1 January 1906 at the Parc des Princes in Paris, where Dave Gallaher’s touring “Original” All Blacks played France in what was France’s first-ever international. Having already toured the British Isles, New Zealand won comfortably 38–8, scoring ten tries in front of a crowd of around 10,000. Despite the scoreline, the match established the cross-Channel respect that has run through the fixture ever since, and it is why the trophy the two nations now contest carries Gallaher’s name.

The All Blacks record against France

As of 2026 the All Blacks and France have met roughly 68 times in test rugby. New Zealand has won about 52 of those matches, France 15, with a single draw — the 20–20 stalemate in Paris in 2002. That gives the All Blacks a win rate of close to 76 percent, one of the strongest they hold against any major nation, and comparable to their long-running edge over the Springboks. The full match-by-match ledger is maintained on Wikipedia.

The headline number, though, hides why the rivalry matters. France’s 15 wins are not spread evenly across dead-rubber tests; several arrived at Rugby World Cups or on New Zealand soil, which is exactly why they hurt. The record below picks out the results that shaped the relationship.

Home, away and the Eden Park question

Eden Park in Auckland is New Zealand rugby’s fortress, and the last time the All Blacks lost a test there was against France — the 1994 “try from the end of the world”. They have not been beaten at the ground by anyone since, so the venue is best described as a fortress that France was the last to breach rather than one France has never cracked. Away from home the picture is more even: the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and passionate provincial grounds such as those in Toulouse and Marseille have produced several of France’s biggest wins, and New Zealand’s away record against Les Bleus is noticeably tighter than its home record.

1987: the first Rugby World Cup final

The rivalry’s first World Cup showpiece came at the inaugural tournament. On 20 June 1987, in front of a home crowd at Eden Park, David Kirk’s All Blacks beat France 29–9 to lift the first Rugby World Cup. Michael Jones scored the final’s opening try and Grant Fox kicked the points, capping a tournament in which New Zealand had been dominant throughout. The win set the template for how the All Blacks would be measured for decades afterwards.

1999: the Twickenham semi-final collapse

The most famous French upset came on 31 October 1999, in the Rugby World Cup semi-final at Twickenham in London. New Zealand, strong favourites and inspired by Jonah Lomu, led 24–10 early in the second half after two trademark Lomu tries. What followed is still regarded as one of the great turnarounds in the sport’s history: France scored 33 unanswered points to win 43–31.

How France turned the semi-final around

Fly-half Christophe Lamaison was the architect, scoring a full house of a try, conversions, penalties and two drop goals for a personal haul of around 28 points. France abandoned caution, attacked from deep, and used accurate kicking to pin New Zealand back and force errors. Wingers such as Christophe Dominici and Philippe Bernat-Salles finished long-range tries as the All Blacks’ game unravelled. The defeat ended New Zealand’s tournament and triggered a period of hard questions about how the team handled pressure at World Cups.

2007: the Cardiff quarter-final and the forward pass

On 6 October 2007 the All Blacks suffered what remains one of their most bruising exits, losing 20–18 to France in the World Cup quarter-final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Heavily favoured and dominant in territory, New Zealand could not break a committed French defence, and France scored a late try to lead 20–18. The move that produced it involved a pass widely judged on replays to have been forward but not penalised at the time. New Zealand laid siege to the French line in the closing minutes but never found the winning score.

Wayne Barnes and the fallout in New Zealand

The result was, at that point, the earliest the All Blacks had ever gone out of a World Cup — their first failure to reach the semi-finals. English referee Wayne Barnes drew intense criticism in New Zealand, and the loss became a turning point for the programme under coach Sir Graham Henry (one of the most scrutinised of the All Blacks coaches), prompting a rethink of how the side prepared for knockout pressure — work that paid off four years later.

2011: redemption in the 8–7 final

New Zealand had waited 24 years for a second World Cup title when they met France again in the final at Eden Park on 23 October 2011. In a tense, low-scoring match the All Blacks won 8–7. Loosehead prop Tony Woodcock scored the game’s only try from a planned lineout move, and fourth-choice first five-eighth Stephen Donald — called into the squad mid-tournament — kicked the decisive penalty. Captain Richie McCaw, one of the most celebrated All Blacks captains, led the side through the closing stages despite a broken foot.

Surviving the closing minutes

France, captained by Thierry Dusautoir, pushed New Zealand to the edge: Dusautoir scored a converted try to close the gap to a single point, and Les Bleus spent long spells camped in All Blacks territory. New Zealand’s forwards slowed France’s ball at the breakdown and forced the errors needed to see out the win, ending the long championship drought at the same ground where it had begun in 1987.

1994: the “try from the end of the world”

France’s finest hour on New Zealand soil came in July 1994, when they won both tests of the tour — the last time any touring side won a series in New Zealand in the twentieth century. The defining moment came in the second test at Eden Park in Auckland on 3 July 1994. With New Zealand leading 20–16 in the final minutes, France launched a counter-attack from inside their own half. A flowing move of running and offloads swept the length of the field and ended with Jean-Luc Sadourny scoring under the posts to win 23–20. Captain Philippe Saint-André called it “a counter-attack from the end of the world”, and it entered folklore as l’essai du bout du monde. It remains the last test the All Blacks have lost at Eden Park, which cements Eden Park’s status as a stronghold while also giving France a unique place in the ground’s history.

The modern era: 2021, 2023 and 2025

France has become genuinely competitive with the All Blacks again in recent years, closing much of the gap through a strong domestic academy system and a settled national squad. In November 2021 France produced a four-try display in Paris to win 40–25. They followed it with a landmark result in the opening match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, again at the Stade de France.

In that 2023 opener the All Blacks struck early through a Mark Tele’a try but lost 27–13, with fullback Thomas Ramos kicking 17 points — New Zealand’s first-ever pool-stage defeat at a World Cup. France backed it up in November 2024, edging the All Blacks 30–29 in Paris to retain the Dave Gallaher Trophy. New Zealand responded on home soil in July 2025, sweeping a three-test series against a much-changed France side 3–0, including a 43–17 win in Wellington. It is worth remembering the balance still favours New Zealand emphatically at World Cups, most starkly in the 2015 quarter-final in Cardiff, which the All Blacks won 62–13 — the biggest knockout win in the tournament’s history.

Two rugby cultures: playing styles and the haka

Part of the rivalry’s appeal is the contrast in how the two nations play. New Zealand has built its identity on continuity, fast ruck ball and attacking from anywhere on the field, backed by a deep home and Super Rugby system. France, at its best, mixes a powerful, penalty-hunting set piece with unpredictable, instinctive attack — the source of famous wins like 1994 and 1999. The table below sums up the broad differences.

The haka and France’s responses

Before kick-off the All Blacks perform a haka, alternating between the traditional “Ka Mate” and the team’s own “Kapa o Pango”. Against France the pre-match challenge has produced some of rugby’s most memorable images. In the 2007 and 2011 encounters France advanced toward the haka arm-in-arm, and before the 2011 final they lined up in a V formation, a response that drew a fine from tournament organisers. Far from ignoring the ritual, French sides have consistently treated it as a moment to answer, adding to the theatre that surrounds these matches.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the all-time record between the All Blacks and France?

As of 2026 the two nations have played about 68 tests. New Zealand has won roughly 52, France 15, with one draw — the 20–20 result in Paris in 2002. That gives the All Blacks a win rate of close to 76 percent, though several of France’s wins have come at Rugby World Cups.

When did France last beat the All Blacks in New Zealand?

France won both tests of their 1994 tour, sealed by the “try from the end of the world” scored by Jean-Luc Sadourny in the second test at Eden Park on 3 July 1994, a 23–20 win. That match remains the last test the All Blacks have lost at Eden Park.

Have France ever beaten the All Blacks at a Rugby World Cup?

Yes. France beat New Zealand in the 1999 semi-final (43–31) and the 2007 quarter-final (20–18), and won the 2023 pool opener 27–13. The All Blacks, however, beat France in the 1987 and 2011 finals and thrashed them 62–13 in the 2015 quarter-final.

What is the Dave Gallaher Trophy?

The Dave Gallaher Trophy is contested whenever the All Blacks and France meet in a test, and has been awarded since 2000. It is named after Dave Gallaher, captain of the 1905 “Original” All Blacks, who led the side in that first meeting with France in 1906 and was later killed in the First World War.

Can France-based or overseas players be selected for the All Blacks?

Under New Zealand Rugby’s current policy, players generally must be contracted to a New Zealand-based Super Rugby side to be eligible, so most players who move to France or Japan become unavailable unless granted a sabbatical. There have been repeated calls to relax the rule, but it remained in place through 2026.