Match Day Programme RWC Edition: France vs New Zealand

Fixture: France vs New Zealand

Venue: Stade de France, Saint Denis, Paris, France

Kickoff Time: 20:05 (GMT)

Referee: Jaco Peyper  

Head-to-head Played:

Played: 62

France Wins: 13

New Zealand: 48

Draws: 1

Rugby World Cup Head-to-Head 

Played: 7

France Wins: 2

New Zealand Wins: 5

Draws: 0

Points for:

France: 841

New Zealand: 1,621 

Biggest winning margin:

France: 15 (20 November 2021)

New Zealand: 51 (9 June 2007)

Last Meeting:  20 November 2021 – France 40-25 New Zealand, Stade de France, Saint Denis.

World Cup Fixtures

France

­vs. Uruguay

vs. Namibia

vs. Italy

New Zealand

vs. Namibia

vs. Italy

vs. Uruguay

Referee: Jaco Peyper

Debut as Referee: 2011

Tests as Referee: 63

RWC Games as Referee: 7

This will be the second time Jaco Peyper has refereed the opening match at a Rugby World Cup tournament after carrying the whistle in 2015 for England versus Fiji at Twickenham.

Team News:

France: There are 13 survivors in the match-day team from the side who defeated New Zealand 40- 25 at this venue in 2021, including two of their three try-scorers that day in Damian Penaud and Peato Mauvaka. France captain Antoine Dupont will play his 50th career test, becoming the sixth scrum-half to achieve this milestone for Les Bleus.

New Zealand: Head coach Ian Foster has named 12 survivors in his match-day 23 from the last time they played France in 2021. • Sam Whitelock is looking to become the first player in RWC history to win three titles after lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2011 and 2015. 

• France ended a 14-game record losing streak against the All Blacks in their last meeting, with their first victory in this fixture since 2009 in Dunedin. They have not won consecutive tests against New Zealand since October 2007 in Cardiff and June 2009 in Dunedin.

• France have only won seven tests against the All Blacks on home soil since their first meeting in Paris in 1954. Only three of these seven victories have come in Paris, winning twice in Toulouse in 1977 and 1995, once in Nantes in 1986 and once in Marseille in 2000.

• New Zealand have won all five games when restricting France to fewer than 20 points in the game. France are the only team in RWC history to have scored 20 or more points against the All Blacks on multiple occasions.

• In their eighth Rugby World Cup meeting, this becomes the most played fixture in the history of the tournament. There have only been two tournaments where they have never met – in 1991 and 1995.