•  It was great to see France in their traditional blue (one of the colours on the Tricolore and before that the colour of the Bourbon Monarchy) and NZ in Black.

•  Byron was a bit of a fat little boy in 99 and was huffing and puffing. BK is in much better shape in 07.

•  Galthie's tackling was immense.

•  The ABs backrow had a collective disaster that day. Thorne and Randell struggled in contact. Kronfeld took an early knock to the head and seemed to have problems handling after that.

•  The French kicked from hand superbly. Not only Lamaison but also Garbjosa, Gaultie and Bernat-Salles.

•  Mehrtens missed three penalties and a conversion in the first half. NZ could have been out of sight by half time, even though they weren't playing well.

•  The ABs were clumsy throughout the game. Lots of drop balls. Umaga and Oliver the worst offenders. The AB's restarts were poor.

•  Fleming's whistle was regularly blown. He pinged NZ for crossing three times. Each time Lamaisson made a brilliant kick down field for a French line out.

•  Fleming ruled at one point that Jeff Wilson had touched the ball down in his own goal, but he was still in the field of play.

•  The ABs were very slow to get back to position after contact. The forwards were too high going into rucks. The ABs defensive organization was weak all game.

•  The turning point game after the NZ second drive. In less than five minutes, the French came back from 24-10 down to 24-22 and rattled the ABs.  Drive up the field, back to Lamaison to drop goal number 2.  Try it a third time and Dowd gives away a professional foul. Then a kicking duel. Brooke ruled off side.  It looked harsh but Lamaison slotted the penalty goal. 24-22.  The French supporters start singing the national anthem very loudly. It must have given a massive lift to the French players.

•  Wilson and Umaga blew a couple of chances but were pressurized by great French cover defense.

•  Hart's substitutions were strange. He took experienced players off early and left inexperienced ones on late. Dowd was taken off too soon. Marshall put on too late.

•  The ABs play got looser and looser as the game went on.

The tries
•  1st French -  Umaga had a disaster, left a gap for Dominici, Merhts and Wilson miss tackles. AB forward slow to cover back. Lamaison raced through and scored.

•  1st NZ -  A Lomu special. Box-kick by Byron, the French fail to catch cleanly. Thorne wins a turnover. Quick hands by BK and Cully, Jonah storms through four French defenders to score.

•  2nd NZ -  Sloppy clearance kick by France. Wilson and Lomu exchange passes back to Lomu who charges through 3 Frenchmen to score. Jonah doing his best to win the game single-handed.

•  2nd French. Wilson goes on a run, but runs away from support. Forwards slow to get there. Turnover. Superb box kick by Galthie, Mehrts might have taken it on the full but lets it bounce. Horror bounce for NZ, great bounce for French straight into Dominici hands who races over.

•  3rd French. Very long penalty kick for touch by Lamaison. Lineout won cleanly by the French. Catch and drive and keep driving. The ABs very high in the maul. Driven towards line. Pass back to Lamaison. ABs backs rush up to prevent drop goal. Lamaison chips forward to perfection  for Dourthe to score. Maybe Wilson should have covered better.

•  4th French try. Oh Dear! An AB attacking scrum. Mehrtens tries a loop move, Umaga drops the pass. Wilson up in the line so no one at full back. Lamaison again kicks ahead. Magne races forward and kick ahead again. A foot race. Bernat-Sales wins, Wilson left watching.

•  3rd NZ try. A late, late consolation after the carnage. AB scrum. Marshall takes it up, pick and drive by Randell then Thorne. Pass out to Wilson who is strong in Ntamack's tackle and scores.

Painful enough that it happened once, but superb play by the French team and Lamaison in particular. Lets hope history doesn't repeat.