2018 France rugby union tour of New Zealand

In June 2018, France played a three-test series against New Zealand as part of the 2018 mid-year rugby union tests. The series was part of the sixth year of the global rugby calendar established by World Rugby, which runs through to 2019.^[1]

2018 France rugby union tour of New Zealand
Coach(es)	Jacques Brunel
Tour captain(s)	Mathieu Bastareaud
Summary	P W D L
Total	03 00 00 03
Test match	03 00 00 03
Opponent	P W D L
New Zealand	3 0 0 3
Tour chronology
Previous tour	South Africa 2017
Next tour	Australia 2021

Fixtures

Date	Venue	Home	Score	Away
9 June 2018	Eden Park, Auckland	New Zealand	52–11	France
16 June 2018	Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington	New Zealand	26–13	France
23 June 2018	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	New Zealand	49–14	France

Squads

Note: Ages, caps and clubs are as per 9 June, the first test match of the tour.

France

On 22 May, Brunel named a 32-man squad ahead of France's three-test series against New Zealand.^[2]

On 27 May, Sébastien Taofifenua was called up to the squad to replace the injured Eddy Ben Arous.^[3]

On 10 June, Rémy Grosso was declared forfait for the rest of the tour.^[4]

Coaching team:

• Head coach: Jacques Brunel
• Backs coach: Jean-Baptiste Élissalde
• Forwards coach: Sébastien Bruno
• Defence coach: Julien Bonnaire

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Pierre Bougarit	Hooker	(1997-09-12)12 September 1997 (aged 20)	0	La Rochelle
Camille Chat	Hooker	(1995-12-18)18 December 1995 (aged 22)	11	Racing 92
Adrien Pélissié	Hooker	(1990-08-07)7 August 1990 (aged 27)	5	Bordeaux Bègles
Uini Atonio	Prop	(1990-03-26)26 March 1990 (aged 28)	28	La Rochelle
Cyril Baille	Prop	(1993-09-15)15 September 1993 (aged 24)	8	Toulouse
Eddy Ben Arous	Prop	(1990-08-25)25 August 1990 (aged 27)	20	Racing 92
Cedate Gomes Sa	Prop	(1993-08-07)7 August 1993 (aged 24)	5	Racing 92
Dany Priso	Prop	(1994-01-02)2 January 1994 (aged 24)	4	La Rochelle
Rabah Slimani	Prop	(1989-10-18)18 October 1989 (aged 28)	46	Clermont Auvergne
Sébastien Taofifénua	Prop	(1992-03-21)21 March 1992 (aged 26)	2	Bordeaux Bègles
Paul Gabrillagues	Lock	(1993-06-03)3 June 1993 (aged 25)	7	Stade Français
Félix Lambey	Lock	(1994-03-15)15 March 1994 (aged 24)	0	Lyon
Yoann Maestri	Lock	(1988-01-14)14 January 1988 (aged 30)	59	Toulouse
Mathieu Babillot	Flanker	(1993-09-09)9 September 1993 (aged 24)	1	Castres
Judicaël Cancoriet	Flanker	(1996-04-25)25 April 1996 (aged 22)	3	Clermont Auvergne
Kevin Gourdon	Flanker	(1990-01-23)23 January 1990 (aged 28)	16	La Rochelle
Alexandre Lapandry	Flanker	(1989-04-13)13 April 1989 (aged 29)	10	Clermont Auvergne
Bernard Le Roux	Flanker	(1989-06-04)4 June 1989 (aged 29)	29	Racing 92
Fabien Sanconnie	Flanker	(1995-02-21)21 February 1995 (aged 23)	3	Brive
Kélian Galletier	Number 8	(1992-03-18)18 March 1992 (aged 26)	3	Montpellier
Morgan Parra	Scrum-half	(1988-11-15)15 November 1988 (aged 29)	66	Clermont Auvergne
Baptiste Serin	Scrum-half	(1994-06-20)20 June 1994 (aged 23)	17	Bordeaux Bègles
Anthony Belleau	Fly-half	(1996-04-08)8 April 1996 (aged 22)	4	Toulon
Jules Plisson	Fly-half	(1991-08-20)20 August 1991 (aged 26)	15	Stade Français
Mathieu Bastareaud (c)	Centre	(1988-09-17)17 September 1988 (aged 29)	45	Toulon
Geoffrey Doumayrou	Centre	(1989-09-16)16 September 1989 (aged 28)	6	La Rochelle
Gaël Fickou	Centre	(1994-03-26)26 March 1994 (aged 24)	35	Toulouse
Wesley Fofana	Centre	(1988-01-20)20 January 1988 (aged 30)	44	Clermont Auvergne
Rémi Lamerat	Centre	(1990-01-14)14 January 1990 (aged 28)	18	Clermont Auvergne
Benjamin Fall	Wing	(1989-03-03)3 March 1989 (aged 29)	10	Montpellier
Rémy Grosso	Wing	(1988-12-04)4 December 1988 (aged 29)	4	Clermont Auvergne
Teddy Thomas	Wing	(1993-09-18)18 September 1993 (aged 24)	10	Racing 92
Hugo Bonneval	Fullback	(1990-11-19)19 November 1990 (aged 27)	11	Toulon
Maxime Médard	Fullback	(1986-11-16)16 November 1986 (aged 31)	47	Toulouse

New Zealand

On 20 May, Hansen named a 33-man squad ahead of the All Blacks' three-test June Series against France (9 June, 16 June, and 23 June).^[5]

Liam Coltman and Akira Ioane were included in the squad as precautionary injury cover.

On 1 June, Sonny Bill Williams was ruled out of the series due to a knee injury.^[6]

On 4 June, Tom Franklin, Luke Romano and Matt Todd were called up as injury cover, with Romano covering for Brodie Retallick who was ruled out of the first test.^[7]

All squad members play rugby in New Zealand.

Coaching team:

• Head coach: Steve Hansen
• Attack coach: Ian Foster
• Forwards coach: Mike Cron
• Defence coach: Scott McLeod

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Franchise/province
Nathan Harris	Hooker	(1992-03-08)8 March 1992 (aged 26)	11	Chiefs / Bay of Plenty
Codie Taylor	Hooker	(1991-03-31)31 March 1991 (aged 27)	29	Crusaders / Canterbury
Owen Franks	Prop	(1987-12-23)23 December 1987 (aged 30)	95	Crusaders / Canterbury
Joe Moody	Prop	(1988-09-18)18 September 1988 (aged 29)	31	Crusaders / Canterbury
Tim Perry	Prop	(1988-08-01)1 August 1988 (aged 29)	0	Crusaders / Tasman
Jeffery Toomaga-Allen	Prop	(1990-11-19)19 November 1990 (aged 27)	1	Hurricanes / Wellington
Karl Tu'inukuafe	Prop	(1993-02-21)21 February 1993 (aged 25)	0	Chiefs / North Harbour
Ofa Tu'ungafasi	Prop	(1992-04-19)19 April 1992 (aged 26)	14	Blues / Auckland
Scott Barrett	Lock	(1993-11-20)20 November 1993 (aged 24)	16	Crusaders / Taranaki
Tom Franklin	Lock	(1990-08-13)13 August 1990 (aged 27)	0	Highlanders / Otago
Brodie Retallick	Lock	(1991-05-31)31 May 1991 (aged 27)	68	Chiefs / Hawke's Bay
Luke Romano	Lock	(1986-02-16)16 February 1986 (aged 32)	31	Crusaders / Canterbury
Sam Whitelock (c)	Lock	(1988-10-12)12 October 1988 (aged 29)	96	Crusaders / Canterbury
Sam Cane	Flanker	(1992-01-13)13 January 1992 (aged 26)	53	Chiefs / Bay of Plenty
Vaea Fifita	Flanker	(1992-06-17)17 June 1992 (aged 25)	5	Hurricanes / Wellington
Shannon Frizell	Flanker	(1994-02-11)11 February 1994 (aged 24)	0	Highlanders / Tasman
Ardie Savea	Flanker	(1993-10-14)14 October 1993 (aged 24)	22	Hurricanes / Wellington
Liam Squire	Flanker	(1991-03-20)20 March 1991 (aged 27)	15	Highlanders / Tasman
Matt Todd	Flanker	(1988-03-24)24 March 1988 (aged 30)	13	Crusaders / Canterbury
Jordan Taufua	Number 8	(1992-01-29)29 January 1992 (aged 26)	0	Crusaders / Counties Manukau
Luke Whitelock	Number 8	(1991-01-29)29 January 1991 (aged 27)	2	Highlanders / Canterbury
TJ Perenara	Half-back	(1992-01-23)23 January 1992 (aged 26)	42	Hurricanes / Wellington
Aaron Smith	Half-back	(1988-11-21)21 November 1988 (aged 29)	71	Highlanders / Manawatu
Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi	Half-back	(1995-03-31)31 March 1995 (aged 23)	0	Chiefs / Taranaki
Beauden Barrett	First five-eighth	(1991-05-27)27 May 1991 (aged 27)	62	Hurricanes / Taranaki
Damian McKenzie	First five-eighth	(1995-04-25)25 April 1995 (aged 23)	12	Chiefs / Waikato
Richie Mo'unga	First five-eighth	(1994-05-25)25 May 1994 (aged 24)	0	Crusaders / Canterbury
Ryan Crotty	Centre	(1988-09-23)23 September 1988 (aged 29)	35	Crusaders / Canterbury
Jack Goodhue	Centre	(1995-07-13)13 July 1995 (aged 22)	0	Crusaders / Northland
Ngani Laumape	Centre	(1993-04-22)22 April 1993 (aged 25)	4	Hurricanes / Manawatu
Anton Lienert-Brown	Centre	(1995-04-15)15 April 1995 (aged 23)	22	Chiefs / Waikato
Sonny Bill Williams	Centre	(1985-08-03)3 August 1985 (aged 32)	46	Blues / Counties Manukau
Rieko Ioane	Wing	(1997-03-18)18 March 1997 (aged 21)	13	Blues / Auckland
Nehe Milner-Skudder	Wing	(1990-12-15)15 December 1990 (aged 27)	11	Hurricanes / Manawatu
Waisake Naholo	Wing	(1991-05-08)8 May 1991 (aged 27)	18	Highlanders / Taranaki
Jordie Barrett	Fullback	(1997-02-17)17 February 1997 (aged 21)	2	Hurricanes / Taranaki
Ben Smith	Fullback	(1986-06-01)1 June 1986 (aged 32)	64	Highlanders / Otago

Matches

First test

9 June 2018 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	52–11	France
Try: B. Barrett 21' m Taylor 52' c B. Smith 55' c Ioane (2) 61' m, 74' m McKenzie 63' m Laumape 66' m Savea 78' c Con: B. Barrett (3/8) 54', 57', 80' Pen: B. Barrett (2/3) 13', 47'	Report	Try: Grosso 6' m Pen: Parra (2/3) 19', 35'

Eden Park, Auckland[8] Attendance: 45,850 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

FB 15 Jordie Barrett  60' RW 14 Ben Smith OC 13 Anton Lienert-Brown IC 12 Ryan Crotty  60' LW 11 Rieko Ioane FH 10 Beauden Barrett SH 9 Aaron Smith  65' N8 8 Luke Whitelock  72' OF 7 Sam Cane 63' to 72'  74' BF 6 Liam Squire RL 5 Scott Barrett LL 4 Sam Whitelock (c) TP 3 Owen Franks  57' HK 2 Codie Taylor  65' LP 1 Joe Moody  45' Replacements: HK 16 Nathan Harris  65' PR 17 Karl Tu'inukuafe  45' PR 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi  57' FL 19 Vaea Fifita  72' FL 20 Ardie Savea  63'  72'  74' SH 21 TJ Perenara  65' FH 22 Damian McKenzie  60' CE 23 Ngani Laumape  60' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Maxime Médard RW 14 Teddy Thomas OC 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (c) IC 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou LW 11 Rémy Grosso  58' FH 10 Anthony Belleau  60' SH 9 Morgan Parra  60' N8 8 Fabien Sanconnie OF 7 Kevin Gourdon BF 6 Judicaël Cancoriet  60' RL 5 Yoann Maestri LL 4 Paul Gabrillagues 50' to 60'  68' TP 3 Uini Atonio  43' HK 2 Camille Chat  60' LP 1 Dany Priso  54' Replacements: HK 16 Adrien Pélissié  60' PR 17 Cyril Baille  54' PR 18 Rabah Slimani  43' FL 19 Bernard Le Roux  68' FL 20 Alexandre Lapandry  60' SH 21 Baptiste Serin  60' FH 22 Jules Plisson  60' CE 23 Gaël Fickou  58' Coach: Jacques Brunel

Man of the Match: Codie Taylor (New Zealand) Touch judges: Angus Gardner (Australia) John Lacey (Ireland) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

Notes:

• Karl Tu'inukuafe (New Zealand) made his international debut.
• Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Scott Barrett became the first trio of brother to start in an All Blacks XV.

Second test

16 June 2018 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	26–13	France
Try: Moody 12' c B. Smith 19' c J. Barrett (2) 39' c, 56' m Con: McKenzie (3/4) 13', 19', 40'	Report	Try: Gomes Sa 80' c Con: Plisson (1/1) 80' Pen: Parra (2/2) 10', 30'

Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 34,422 Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

FB 15 Jordie Barrett RW 14 Ben Smith OC 13 Anton Lienert-Brown  57'  71' IC 12 Ryan Crotty  71' LW 11 Rieko Ioane FH 10 Beauden Barrett  11' SH 9 Aaron Smith  54' N8 8 Luke Whitelock OF 7 Sam Cane  43' BF 6 Liam Squire  40' RL 5 Scott Barrett LL 4 Sam Whitelock (c) TP 3 Owen Franks  33' HK 2 Codie Taylor  50' LP 1 Joe Moody  45' Replacements: HK 16 Nathan Harris  50' PR 17 Karl Tu'inukuafe  45' PR 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi  33' FL 19 Vaea Fifita  40' FL 20 Ardie Savea  43' SH 21 TJ Perenara 62' to 72'  54' FH 22 Damian McKenzie  11' CE 23 Ngani Laumape  57' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Benjamin Fall  11' RW 14 Teddy Thomas OC 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (c) IC 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou  61' LW 11 Gaël Fickou FH 10 Anthony Belleau  71' SH 9 Morgan Parra  54' N8 8 Kevin Gourdon OF 7 Kélian Galletier  64' BF 6 Mathieu Babillot RL 5 Yoann Maestri  57' LL 4 Bernard Le Roux TP 3 Uini Atonio  47' HK 2 Camille Chat  57' LP 1 Dany Priso  47' Replacements: HK 16 Pierre Bougarit  57' PR 17 Cyril Baille  47' PR 18 Cedate Gomes Sa  47' LK 19 Paul Gabrillagues  57' FL 20 Alexandre Lapandry  64' SH 21 Baptiste Serin  54' FH 22 Jules Plisson  71' FB 23 Maxime Médard  61' Coach: Jacques Brunel

Man of the Match: Jordie Barrett (New Zealand) Touch judges: John Lacey (Ireland) Luke Pearce (England) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

Notes:

• Pierre Bougarit (France) made his international debut.
• New Zealand retain the Dave Gallaher Trophy.

Third test

23 June 2018 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	49–14	France
Try: B. Smith 15' c Todd 22' c McKenzie (2) 31' c, 46' c Ioane (3) 52' c, 58' c, 64' c Con: McKenzie (7/7) 16', 23', 32', 47', 53', 59', 65'		Try: Serin 11' c Fofana 27' c Con: Belleau (2/2) 12', 28'

Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin Attendance: 30,000 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

FB 15 Ben Smith RW 14 Waisake Naholo OC 13 Jack Goodhue IC 12 Sonny Bill Williams  57' LW 11 Rieko Ioane FH 10 Damian McKenzie  69' SH 9 Aaron Smith  63' N8 8 Luke Whitelock OF 7 Ardie Savea 21' to 30' BF 6 Shannon Frizell RL 5 Scott Barrett LL 4 Sam Whitelock (c)  69' TP 3 Owen Franks  45' HK 2 Codie Taylor  71' LP 1 Joe Moody  63' Replacements: HK 16 Liam Coltman  71' PR 17 Karl Tu'inukuafe  63' PR 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi  45' LK 19 Jackson Hemopo  21'  30'  69' FL 20 Matt Todd  16' SH 21 TJ Perenara  63' FH 22 Richie Mo'unga  69' FB 23 Jordie Barrett  57' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Benjamin Fall  47'  59' RW 14 Teddy Thomas  63' OC 13 Rémi Lamerat  74' IC 12 Wesley Fofana LW 11 Gaël Fickou FH 10 Anthony Belleau SH 9 Morgan Parra (c)  7' N8 8 Kevin Gourdon  50' OF 7 Kélian Galletier BF 6 Mathieu Babillot RL 5 Yoann Maestri LL 4 Bernard Le Roux  63' TP 3 Uini Atonio  50' HK 2 Camille Chat 44' to 48'  63' LP 1 Dany Priso  50' Replacements: HK 16 Adrien Pélissié  44'  48'  63' PR 17 Cyril Baille  50' PR 18 Cedate Gomes Sa  50' LK 19 Félix Lambey  63' FL 20 Alexandre Lapandry  50' SH 21 Baptiste Serin  7' FH 22 Jules Plisson  74' FB 23 Maxime Médard  47'  59'  63' Coach: Jacques Brunel

Man of the Match: Scott Barrett (New Zealand) Touch judges: Angus Gardner (Australia) Graham Cooper (Australia) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

Notes:

• Shannon Frizell, Jack Goodhue, Jackson Hemopo and Richie Mo'unga (all New Zealand) and Félix Lambey (France) made their international debuts.

See also

• 2018 mid-year rugby union internationals