All Blacks team naming: Scott Robertson names squad for third test against France
All Blacks v France, Third test, 7.05pm, Saturday, FMG Stadium, Hamilton
All you need to know as Scott Robertson's side look to complete the sweep against France. A 3-0 series win would be the fifth time the All Blacks have swept aside France in three tests, the last time being in 2018.
The All Blacks have now won 50 tests against France, just the second nation they have reached that milestone (Australia 126 wins, South Africa 62).
The All Blacks have lost just once in Hamilton in 16 outings, to the Springboks in 2009. Since that defeat, they have won nine straight at the home of the Chiefs.
France have never played a test in Hamilton.
All Blacks v France history
Played - 66
All Blacks won - 50
France won - 15
Draws - 1
All Blacks points scored - 1733
France points scored - 935
All Blacks' record in Hamilton
1997 - All Blacks 62 Argentina 10
2002 - All Blacks 64 Italy 10
2003 - All Blacks 55 Wales 3
2004 - All Blacks 41 Argentina 7
2006 - All Blacks 34 Ireland 23
2007 - All Blacks 64 Canada 13
Advertise with NZME.
2009 - South Africa 32 All Blacks 29
2010 - All Blacks 29 Wales 10
2011 - All Blacks 83 Japan 7
2012 - All Blacks 60 Ireland 0
2013 - All Blacks 28 Argentina 13
2014 - All Blacks 36 England 13
Advertisement Advertise with NZME.
2016 - All Blacks 57 Argentina 22
2019 - All Blacks 92 Tonga 7
2021 - All Blacks 60 Fiji 13
2022 - All Blacks 53 Argentina 3
All Blacks v France line-ups
All Blacks side:
Named Thursday.
Advertisement Advertise with NZME.
Skipper Scott Barrett has already been ruled out for the series while Tupou Vaa'i failed a head injury assessment (HIA) following the second test. Sevu Reece is available to return after he failed an HIA in Dunedin.
If Codie Taylor is named in the squad, he'd be set for his 99th test cap.
France side:
Named Thursday.
Centre Pierre-Louis Barassi, loose forward/lock Cameron Woki and prop Régis Montagne have already been ruled out, according to French media.
Form guide (past five tests)
All Blacks: W, W, W, L, W
Advertisement Advertise with NZME.
France: L, L, W, W, W
The All Blacks have won eight of their last nine since back-to-back defeats in South Africa last year. Scott Robertson's winning percentage has moved to 75%.
All Blacks v France referee
Angus Gardner of Australia is in charge of the third test in Hamilton.
This will be the third All Blacks-France test Gardner has been in charge of - the last two matches in 2017 and 2018 resulted in New Zealand wins.
Gardner has officiated 15 All Blacks tests since 2016, and they have won 12 of them.
He's been in charge of eight French tests, the first four they lost. Most recently he was in the middle when France beat Ireland 42-27 in Dublin during the Six Nations.
All Blacks v France TAB odds
All Blacks: $1.07 Draw: $31 France: $7.50
All Blacks v France series schedule
Saturday, July 5, All Blacks 31 France 27, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Saturday, July 12, All Blacks 43 France 17, Sky Stadium, Wellington
Saturday, July 19, 7.05pm – All Blacks v France, FMG Stadium, Hamilton
All Blacks v France - how to follow the action
For live commentary of All Blacks v France, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.
Plus James McOnie & Mike Lane of The Alternative Commentary Collective will be providing commentary on their iHeartRadio stream.
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and it will be livestreaming on Sky Sport Now.
You can also find live updates at nzherald.co.nz.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Tour de France: Pogacar claims fourth stage win to extend lead as fourth title looms
Tadej Pogacar (SLO) on the podium after stage 13 of the 112th edition of the Tour de France on 18 July 2025 in Peyragudes, France. Photo: Vincent Kalut Tadej Pogacar continued his charge towards an anticipated fourth Tour de France title when he stretched his overall lead to over four minutes by winning the 13th stage, a lung-busting 10.9km uphill time trial. The defending champion dominated the eight-kilometre climb at 7.9 percent to clock 23 minutes and beat Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by a massive 36 seconds, a day after dealing a significant blow to his closest rival in the first major mountain stage in the Pyrenees. Fellow Slovenian Primoz Roglic took third place, 1:40 off the pace, while Belgian Remco Evenepoel hung on to third place overall by the skin of his teeth following a disappointing effort that saw him finish 2:39 behind Pogacar. After his fourth stage win in this year's race, UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider Pogacar leads Vingegaard by 4:07 and Evenepoel by 7:24. German Florian Lipowitz showed great form again and trails Evenepoel by six seconds. Pogacar picked a regular road bike for the solo effort against the clock while Evenepoel and Vingegaard opted for a time trial bike - heavier but with better aerodynamics. It was quickly clear that, regardless of those calculations, Pogacar was again the strongest rider as he posted the best time on the brief flat portion ahead of the main ascent before further extending his advantage. "I'm super happy. This time trial was a question mark for me back in December. I wanted everything to be perfect, and the team delivered - everything was on point," he told reporters. "I was targeting to go all out from start to finish. I almost blew up at the end, but when I saw I was going to win at the finish, it gave me an extra push." The 26-year-old said it had been a close call between the road and the TT bike, but in the end, he chose the most comfortable ride. "The biggest decision was which bike to ride today. Obviously, we ride road bikes all year round, but we did the calculations and the time ended up about the same. So I decided to go with what I felt more confident on." Pogacar went full gas from the start. "My tactic was simple: go all out from the bottom to the top," he said. "At the first time check, I saw I was five seconds ahead - that gave me confidence. The second split was even better," he explained. "Basically, I was trying not to blow up in the first part. I almost did in the end - maybe in the last kilometre. From 3 to 2km to go, I reset a bit because that last kick is super steep." New Zealand's Lawrence Pithie finished 113th in today's stage and is in 100th place in the general classification. Pogacar will now go for a hat-trick of stage wins, when the 14th stage will take the peloton from Pau to Luchon-Superbagneres with the awe-inspiring climbs of the Col d'Aspin, Col du Tourmalet, Col de Peyresourde before the final ascent, a 12.4-km effort at 7.3 percent. - Reuters
NZ Herald
5 hours ago
- NZ Herald
All Blacks v France: Quinn Tupaea's resilience on path to homecoming test in Hamilton
Quinn Tupaea knows more than most the resilience required to ride the rugby wave. Tupaea starts his first homecoming test in Hamilton as the All Blacks seek to finish off the French on Saturday. Running out at Waikato Stadium surrounded by Chiefs teammates – five in the starting backline
NZ Herald
5 hours ago
- NZ Herald
On The Up: Oldest living All Black Brian Steele, 96, shares secret to longevity
He only got his chance to appear in the All Black trials because Wellington's first-choice halfback Vince Bevan was forced out with injuries. Steele's trial saw him play three games in Wellington and Palmerston North. He said it was a hard trial because everyone he was playing was so good. 'I enjoyed it and I was lucky to get through,' he said. The All Blacks team headed to Sydney from Evans Bay in Wellington on a Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) flying boat, a flight that would take eight hours. It was the ideal duration for Steele and the team's other newbies to get their heads around actions and words for the haka. Steele said he wouldn't be able to perform it today as he doesn't remember the words. Playing in every game and test of the tour, Steele's speed, ball handling, and smarts helped the All Blacks win every game and take the Bledisloe Cup back from the Wallabies after losing it to them in 1949. Oldest living All Black, Brian Steele, takes on the Wallabies on the 1951 All Blacks tour of Australia. Although Steele wasn't able to get a try in the series, he did manage a dropped goal against a Combined XV in Wagga Wagga and a conversion when he and legendary winger Ron Jarden swapped their regular positions, with Steele typically being the one to hold the ball as Jarden kicked. 'That was the style of the time, and the balls were heavy because they were made of leather,' Steele said. Despite a strong showing in the team at a young age, Steele never played for the All Blacks again, nor did he receive another trial. But Steele is happy his record with the All Blacks will forever remain a 100% win rate. Oldest living All Black Brian Steele's portrait from the 1951 All Blacks tour of Australia. Outside of rugby, Steele was a carpenter on high-rise buildings in Wellington until the city's miserable weather motivated him to relocate to Havelock North in 1968 with his wife and five children. After rugby, Steele became a mountain climber and marathon runner, completing 25 marathons around the world. 'You've got to keep fit, or you'll lose it all,' he said of his motivation. He also became a big supporter of charity through his work with Telethon, the 24-hour live television spectacular raising funds for charitable causes in the country that ran through the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Steele's charity work on the shows saw him live in a caravan atop scaffolding at the Write Price supermarket at the site of Hastings Pak'nSave. He also lived in a six-foot by four-foot (1.82m x 1.21m) hut atop a pole for a week, with people dropping food and donations into a bucket attached to a rope. Steele said he remembered having to send down excrement in a separate bucket. As Christian Cullen's great-uncle, Steele said he never had any advice to give the Paekākāriki Express, because 'he was that good'. Today, Steele lives a happy life at a rest home in Havelock North and is a proud grandfather to 11 and great-grandfather to three. He still watches the rugby and cheers on his old team, but he doesn't enjoy watching it on TV as much as he would at the stadium. 'On the TV, the camera goes right in and when we go to the game, we sit in the stadium and we get to watch the full picture,' he said. At 96, Steele is just four years away from becoming the second ever All Black to hit 100, and he's sure he can make it. 'Come back and see me in 2029,' he said with a laugh. Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke's Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.
