New Zealand edges France 34-32 to open rugby's first Nations Championship‎

New Zealand opened rugby's inaugural Nations Championship, and a new era under head coach Dave Rennie, with an ambitious but deeply-flawed 34-32 win over France on Saturday. Rennie called for two qualities from the All Blacks, brutality and optimism, and they produced both but only in patches. Errors of execution and discipline forced by the relentlessness of a French team stripped of many of its leading players meant New Zealand was unable to secure its win until the final minutes.