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New Zealand showed exactly why critics should rule them out of retaining the Rugby World Cup at their peril as they ran in a sensational nine tries in the 62-13 demolition of France to book their place in the tournament semi-finals.
The All Blacks will meet Rugby Championship rivals South Africa in the last four after crusing past France in the quarter-finals in a display of raw aggression, incredible skill and genius bordering on the sublime in Cardiff.
Julian Savea bagged the fourth Test hat-trick of his All Blacks career to take his overall tally to 38 tries in 39 matches - one more than All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu - while Brodie Retallick, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Jerome Kaino also touched down before the break.
The rout continued in the second half, as replacement Tawera Kerr-Barlow scored twice along with one from Kieran Read, and all France had to show from their efforts were a first-half Louis Picamoles try added to by a long-range Scott Spedding penalty and two place kicks from Morgan Parra.
So how did the players perform? Click on the gallery below to find out.
Show all 30 1 /30New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings <b>New Zealand:</b> Ben Smith – 7 out of 10 Given little to do in defence but when he needed to be called upon – usually to tackle Wesley Fofana – he delivered the goods. Nearly bagged a try for himself after collecting his own chip and chase.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Nehe Milner-Skudder – 7 out of 10 His dazzling footwork took him past three would-be tacklers to score New Zealand’s second, but he was unable to continue his impressive work as he left at half-time with ice on his shoulder.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Conrad Smith – 7 out of 10 One of the quieter All Blacks in the back-line, but that was only because of the fireworks going off around him. Linked the play well and left after 50 minutes to make way for Sonny Bill Williams.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Ma’a Nonu - 8 out of 10 His early break set the tone for the match as he nearly barged his way over. However, he will be the laughing stock of the team after waltzing through a giant hole in the French defence before turning on the gas, only to drop the ball on the line. Answered his critics with a brilliant all round performance though.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Julian Savea – 10 out of 10 Cut France to shreds in the first half as he bounced off three defenders to score his second try of the match to surge ahead as the tournament’s top try scorer. His third was much more simpler as he showed his sheer pace to run in unopposed.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Dan Carter – 9 out of 10 Rolled back the years to put in one of his best performances in recent years. Burnt Pape on the outside before handing him off and offloading the ball out the back of the hand to send Savea over. As his team-mates pressed on in the second half, Carter simply sat back and pulled the strings to magnify his class.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Aaron Smith – 7 out of 10 A nuisance for Morgan Parra and created plenty of time for himself to deliver Carter clean ball. Always looked alert to where the space was and directed his side in that direction.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Wyatt Crockett – 5 out of 10 He left early with injury after making a good initial impression in the scrum.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Dane Coles – 7 out of 10 Go a stern telling off from Nigel Owens when he disputed a lineout call, but his throwing was exemplary and a unit with the ball in hand.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Owen Franks – 8 out of 10 His strong work in the scrum was nothing compared to what he produced in the loose. Hard running combined with lovely hands saw the prop have a major say in Kaino’s score before he took his place on the bench.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Brodie Retallick – 9 out of 10 Charged Michalak down and re-gathered the ball to score the opening try. Disrupted the French lineout just to make their life even more harder, and had a helping hand in Kaino’s score too.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Sam Whitelock – 7 out of 10 One of the standout players defensively for the All Blacks as he wrapped the ball up when a French maul was threatening the line. Like Retallick, linked the play well, and you didn’t notice when he appeared in the back-line such is his talent with the ball.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Jerome Kaino – 7 out of 10 Huge tackle on Yoan Maestri shortly after the kick-off paved the way to the incredibly fast start. Kept up the pace to finish a beautifully flowing move in the second half but looked to take a knock shortly after.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Richie McCaw – 8 out of 10 Relentless at the breakdown, although when he was penalised for coming in at the side of a maul the French dished out punishment of their own that left McCaw hurt on the floor. Ever the warrior, he continued to lead by example.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Kieran Read – 8 out of 10 Unusually quiet in the first half beyond the restarts – where he was mighty – but he came to life after the break as he had a helping hand in two of the All Blacks tries as well as one for himself.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings <b>France:</b> Scott Spedding – 6 out of 10 Made an immediate mark on the game with a penalty from his own half, but it all went downhill from there. Displayed stunning acceleration and carried well when given the chance, but nearly all of his work was defending and he had no answer to the challenge coming his way.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Noa Nakaitaci – 4 out of 10 Completely outshone by his opposite number and didn’t help his cause by standing out on his wing when he could have come in searching for the ball. The one good run he had came off a pre-set move – and it eventually came to nothing.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Alexandre Dumoulin – 5 out of 10 Impressive in the early stages as he set about trying to barge his way through Nonu and Smith, but as his team was starved of the ball his effect faded.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Wesley Fofana – 7 out of 10 Made two lovely breaks in the second half but the chances went begging when New Zealand’s defence –for once – was at sixes and sevens. He fought till the very end, and he should be proud of his efforts. Unfortunately, given the result, he won’t be.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Brice Dulin – 5 out of 10 Extremely quiet out on his wing and his one memorable moment was for all the wrong reasons as he was charged down by Ben Smith in the second half. Luckily for him, the ball beat the full-back to the dead ball line. One telling contribution was the try-saving tackle on Nonu, but even the All Black saw the funny side of it.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Frederic Michalak – 3 out of 10 The one thing he did in the game cost his side seven points. Retallick charged down his kick to score, and he left immediately after with a hamstring injury.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Morgan Parra – 5 out of 10 Couldn’t fault his passing as his delivery was crisp. One criticism would be that he missed an effort at goal, but he couldn’t do much else wrong because he never saw the ball.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Eddy Ben Arous – 5 out of 10 Outmuscled in the front-row battle by Franks and did little of note in the loose before being replaced by Vincent Debaty on the hour mark.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Guilhem Guirado – 4 out of 10 Struggled to hit his jumpers in the lineout due to the pressure he faced. Replaced by Dimitri Szarewski after a torrid hour.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Rabah Slimani – 5 out of 10 Met his match in Crockett, although he soon saw the back of him due to injury. Joe Moody wasn’t as tough to cope with in the scrum, but Slimani spent most of the tackling shadows.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Pascal Pape – 5 out of 10 At fault for Savea’s first try when he allowed Carter to get outside him. Put every ounce of strength into each tackle, but could do little else.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Yoann Maestri – 4 out of 10 Lost control of the ball – and any grip on the match France ever had – in the opening minute when Kaino knocked him into next week.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Thierry Dusautoir – 6 out of 10 Even his physicality was no match for the All Blacks as he was dominated in the breakdown. Showed a cool head to try and calm his team-mates when frustrations go the best of them, but inside he must have been hurting. Possibly his final outing leading his country, certainly his last World Cup. A shame to bow out like that.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Bernard le Roux – 5 out of 10 Turned the ball over early to suggest France could compete at the breakdown, but from that moment on he came off second best.
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New Zealand 62 France 13 player ratings Louis Picamoles – 6 out of 10 Reacted first to gather the ball and score to get France back in the game. All his good work was undone though when he got himself sin-binned for a cheeky shot on McCaw.
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