All Blacks march on

We had to absorb a fair bit early on and I am proud the boys did that and when we got our opportunities we put points on the board, said McCaw. In big tests thats what you have got to do,so very happy.

For the first nine minutes,it had looked like Eden Park might possibly experience a shock to rank alongside Irelands victory over Australia last Saturday as the French took the early initiative and camped in the New Zealand half. A rampaging charge from centre Maa Nonu in the 10th minute turned the tide,however,with number eight Adam Thomson reaping the benefits to cross in the corner for the games opening try. Just 11 minutes later and the All Blacks were 19-0 up.

Cory Jane scored the second try when came off his wing to take a neat inside pop pass from scrumhalf Piri Weepu and dashed 40 metres through the cover defence to touch down. Four minutes later,it was the turn of flyhalf Carter to make the line-break and he drew the final defender to allow Dagg to touch down unopposed.

France regroup

RATTLED after the three-try blitz,France did manage to regroup and held their own for the remainder of the half with scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili finally getting some points on the board with a penalty just before the break. The All Blacks came out firing after halftime,however,and within a minute another Carter line break got them within five metres of the French line before Dagg danced his way through the defence to secure the bonus point with his second try.

Carter,who had converted three of the four tries,added a penalty five minutes later to extend the lead to 29-3 but gifted France their first try when his long mispass was intercepted by centre Maxime Mermoz on 54 minutes.

New Zealands golden boy made some amends 10 minutes later with a slick drop goal to extend the lead to 32-10 and effectively end any French hopes of a comeback.

France,whose gamble on playing scrumhalf Morgan Parra at flyhalf did not pay off,restored some pride with a try from Parras replacement Francois Trinh-Duc after a series of five-metre scrums four minutes from time. But the All Blacks hammered home their superiority immediately with Sonny Bill Williams,on as a replacement for Jane,going over in the corner after a superb sweeping move.

The French,who play Tonga in their final pool match on October 1,are still likely to finish second in the group and reach the last eight. We made too many mistakes, said France captain Thierry Dusautoir. We conceded too many tries to th e All Blacks. They made a difference in the first half. We came back at the end of the second half. We need to work hard and I think this is a good lesson for us.