The inaugural Nations Championship kicked off with a dramatic nine-try match in Christchurch, where the New Zealand All Blacks narrowly defeated France 34-32. Will Jordan was a key contributor, scoring two tries for the home side.
Jordan's tries came in the seventh and 71st minutes, marking a successful start for new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie. He is now two tries away from Doug Howlett's New Zealand record of 49 tries. Other try scorers for New Zealand included Peter Lakai and scrum-half Cam Roigard, who added two tries himself.
France, the reigning Six Nations champions, fought back with tries from Damian Penaud, Antoine Hastoy, Theo Attissogbe, and Matthieu Jalibert. The French team played without prominent stars Antoine Dupont and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. France also had a potential try disallowed in the second half due to a knock-on.
New Zealand is scheduled to host Italy next weekend, while France will travel to Australia to continue their Nations Championship campaign.