It was ugly and highly unconvincing but at least the All Blacks can say they got the result they wanted from what was always going to be a banana skin of a test, i.e. first test of the season against a French team determined to atone for a disappointing 6 Nations campaign and at the end of a long rugby season in the other hemisphere.
To be fair, the referee did the All Blacks no favours, appearing to give the French the freedom of the breakdowns without any adjudication applied. To say that the French got away with murder time from time again as balls popped out of rucks in funny fashion may be a mere whinge but watch the game and again and I think most neutrals and some of the French might feel the same way about Wayne Barnes' refereeing too.
Instead, Barnes concentrated his pedantic energy on other areas, including a period in the 2nd half where the scrum was reset for 5 minutes, until Barnes finally penalized the attacking French pack - even then it was questionable but watchers were just glad to see the arm out as it meant the game could get on.
As for the All Blacks, the hairdryer will be out this week after a generally average showing in all areas. They showed sparkle in two plays which let to the tries - the Highlanders connection was clearly evident with Ben Smith and Ma'a Nonu creating the breaks, and Aaron Smith connecting to finish or pass to Sam Cane to score.
Other than that, the scoreline really flattered the All Blacks who were dominated at the breakdowns by the French - even without some questionable tactics at the breakdown, Les Bleus were the superior side physically. Their lineouts were flimsy and their handling was rather slipshot.
The All Blacks were expected to be rusty in their first test of the season but I hadn't seen this many mistakes and missed tackles by an All Blacks side at home for a long time and for a while, an upset defeat to the French was ominous.
But for New Zealanders and the coaching staff, that was averted. Question now is: how many changes will be made for the decisive test in New Plymouth next Saturday?
Man of the Match - Ben Smith, looked dangerous with ball in hand and made plenty of linebreaks. Secure at the back in defence too.
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