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The stakes were high as New Zealand and France kicked off their respective 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign. Both teams had it tough right out of the gates, playing a game that will be crucial to their seeding at the end of the group stage.
The All Blacks exploded out of the gates guns ablaze, with outside centre Rieko Ioane splitting the French defence wide open in the first three minutes. The movement shortly after ended with a cross-kick try by Mark Telea.
Although flyhalf Richie Mo'unga missed the conversion attempt, New Zealand claimed the high ground early on.
Le Bleu replied soon after when fullback Thomas Ramos converted on a penalty attempt to pull the hosts back into the game. After that, the game cooled down a bit until Ramos again converted a penalty at goal in the 19th minute to give the Roosters a 6-5 lead.
The Kiwis didn't let go, though. Mo'unga redeemed himself by bagging a penalty goalkick to hand his side the lead again, at 8-6. However, Thomas Ramos see-sawed the scoreline right back in the hosts' favour with another penalty conversion.
Riding a 9-8 lead, France then missed a golden opportunity to extend their lead when Ramos narrowly hooked a penalty goalkick. It turned out to almost cost them dearly, as New Zealand launched a fiery attack right before half-time. A pass out the back of a pod sent the All Black backline flying deep into Rooster territory.
Fortunately, for Le Bleu, the attack surprisingly fizzled out, which would eventually send the teams into the locker room, 9-8 for France at the half.
France slowly drive New Zealand out of town: 2023 Rugby World Cup Opener
Similar to how they started the first half, the Kiwis kicked down the door early in the second. A perfectly executed set-piece in their own half saw New Zealand quickly drive into France's half.
A wide pass that narrowly stayed flat put winger Mark Telea into open space down the sideline to score the All Blacks' second try. While Mo'unga again missed the 2-point conversation, New Zealand held the lead at 13-9.
Kiwi fans then bit their nails when a French cross-kick threatened to turn into a try. Rooster right-winger Damian Penaud flew down the sideline, only to be denied by a brilliant cross-defence tackle at the goalline.
Nonetheless, Penaud would soon after be rewarded for his hard work, scoring a try in the very corner he was denied in moments earlier. With the 2-pointer, the hosts went ahead 16-13.
However, things went from bad to worse for the Kiwis when winger Will Jordan was booked with a yellow shortly after for an air tackle on Thomas Ramos. Ramos was fine, though, but missed a penalty goalkick a while later.
With the score iced at 16-13 for France, New Zealand seemed like they were slowly losing their footing in Paris. The Roosters piled on, bagging two more penalty goals from distance. Ramos maintained a kicking game strong enough to keep the All Blacks at bay, though.
Some final action followed when a deep box kick from the hosts was beautifully retrieved for a try by reserve Melvyn Jaminet in the dying minutes of the Rugby World Cup opener. The Kiwis eventually fell short, though.
France 27 - 13 New Zealand
