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FWC on Sport Nation guideTony Johnson: Key takeaways from first All Blacks win under Rennie
Tony Johnson • July 6th, 2026 12:20 pm
Will Jordan | Photo: John Davidson/Photosport
The first Test of the year for the All Blacks is always a big moment on the sporting calendar, even more so this time around because it was the first under a new coach.
Add to that mix the maiden Test in a proper stadium in Christchurch in 16 years and the first match of rugby's new venture, and man, did the new Nations Championship deliver.
Two exciting back and forth matches to kick it off Saturday night - both in the balance to the final whistle - neither perfect, but both producing some outstanding rugby, flashes of the type we like to see.
Later on, the Springboks were in an ominous mood, playing it the way they like - giving England a bit of a smack in the process. And then, amongst a flurry of games on Sunday, we had a quite extraordinary 85-point match between Argentina and Scotland.
Perhaps the only downer of the opening round was the sight of Fiji having to play their 'home' match with Wales in Cardiff for financial reasons.
The All Blacks perform the haka at Te Kaha | Photo: Craig Butland/Photosport
As for the All Blacks vs France Test - well, we have lofty expectations in New Zealand. All of yours may not have been met.
Here are a few initial takeaways from the weekend.
The good? Well, it was a great contest in a great stadium between two teams committed to playing positive attacking football. Both sides really wanted to play. That was great.
It wasn't perfect from the All Blacks, not entirely convincing, but they won and there are some promising signs that fans were hoping to see under the new coach.
There were a couple of standouts for me - one, the ability of the All Blacks forwards to produce lightning quick ruck ball.
The stats tell us that they did not take the ball once into a ruck or a contact situation, a tackle, not once did they lose it. They recycled their own ball, and they recycled it at a staggering rate - 85 percent of it came back within three seconds.
Given that platform, there are signs that this All Blacks team will play a style that gives rein to the talent in their ranks. Play to a pattern, yes, but don't be constrained by that pattern and react to what's in front of you. It's what brings the best out of our players.
And three, well, there wasn't much in it at the end. France were allowed back into it. France hung in there, and they made a real play for the game at the end, but the All Blacks did manage to keep it together when it counted most, and they got the win.
All Blacks No. 10 Ruben Love makes a run against France Photo: Craig Butland/Photosport
Of course, there are a bunch of things that will need to be better.
Dave Rennie talked about accuracy needing to improve. They fell off too many tackles for anyone's liking.
Some of the kicking was pretty average. Both Damian McKenzie and Ruben Love marred otherwise eye-catching performances with aimless kicks that allowed the French easy counter-attack ball.
But you have to start somewhere. All in all, there's plenty to work on, plenty of scope for improvement, but to use the catch cry, plenty to be optimistic about.
Tony Johnson hosts Sport Nation Mornings 9am-12pm Mondays to Wednesdays and is a world renowned rugby commentator for Sky Sport.
