World Cup favourite New Zealand confronted its worst-case scenario when it lost flyhalf Daniel Carter to an injury while beating France 42-11 in a rugby union international on Saturday.
Carter, principal cog in the All Blacks’ Cup machine, did not return to the field for the second half at Eden Park after struggling through most of the first spell with a damaged leg, twisted in an early tackle.
He battled to halftime, twice receiving medical treatment, then gave up his place to Nick Evans and watched from the grandstand as the All Blacks completed a wholly anticipated, but not entirely faultless, five tries to one win.
Captain Richie McCaw also left the field at halftime, turning over the leadership to Reuben Thorne, but the livewire flanker, a key Cup hope, bore no obvious signs of injury.
The loss of both Carter and McCaw in the first Test of the season and to serious injuries would have caused the All Blacks redoubled anxiety.
Winger Sitiveni Sivivatu’s unerring nose for the tryline brought him two tries, centre Aaron Mauger also scored in each half and Rodney So’oialo scored another as the All Blacks first built, then steadily embellished a 20-3 halftime lead.
Carter kicked a conversion and penalty before departing, scrumhalf Piri Weepu also kicked a conversion and penalty to spare Carter’s injured leg and Evans added a penalty and two conversions in the second half as 15 points came from goalkicks.
Winger Jean-Francois Coux, who was called into the French team Friday as an 11th-hour replacement for Julian Laharrague — dropped for disciplinary reasons — scored France’s only try in the 57th minute and flyhalf Benjamin Boyet kicked two penalties.
France made no secret of the fact it did not want to make this tour. It was forced to leave behind at least 14 first-string players — committed to clubs involved in French domestic playoffs — and had 10 players on debut on Saturday.
Coach Bernard Laporte called the two-Test tour ”a joke” and said ”we did not want to come but we must come”. The French Rugby Federation offered New Zealand financial compensation to call the tour off.
For all those reservations, the French played with spirit and provided the All Blacks with determined, physical opposition. They muscled up in the forwards, hitting breakdowns hard, defending keenly around the fringes and forcing the All Blacks to look wide for their scoring chances.
Neither side had a failsafe lineout and the All Blacks’ scrum was a work in progress. New Zealand lost some continuity in the face of France’s combativeness and took time to function with any certainty in the backline. Individual brilliance, from Isaia Toeava, Joe Rokokoco, Mauger and Evans, played a part in most of its tries.
Mauger scored the game’s first try in the 28th minute, penalties having made the score 6-3 in New Zealand’s favour until the midfielder crossed. Winger Joe Rokocoko’s backline incision on the right-hand side of an attacking scrum made the gap and Toeava hurried the ball to Mauger who scored under the posts.
Sivivatu scored a disputed try seven minutes later, twice butting ahead a kick from Carter then forcing it tenuously after French fullback Thomas Castaignade had overrun the ball.
Toeava seemed to have scored but was denied a try in the 53rd minute but New Zealand immediately made good, stealing the ball from a damaged French scrum and moving it quickly wide to Sivivatu with Evans’ deft flick pass.
Coux’s try, from a kick by flanker Olivier Magne, cut the margin, but Mauger’s second try, off a pass from Sivivatu, and another by replacement loosie Rodney So’oialo made New Zealand’s margin emphatic.
The teams meet again in Wellington on Saturday. – Sapa-AP