The Dave Rennie era with the All Blacks is officially underway, opening with a dramatic 34-32 win over France in the Garden City.
As part of our review of the first test, we’re introducing a new series: Stock Watch. After each game, we’ll break down the performances and highlight five names whose stock may have risen or fallen based on their 80-minute showing.
Seems simple enough, right? So let’s get straight into the first hit-out of the new regime.
Cam Roigard | Stock Up 📈
With the absence of the player generally regarded as the best halfback in the world, Antoine Dupont, All Blacks scrumhalf Cam Roigard once again put his hand up in the race for that very title.
From the opening whistle, Roigard looked on another level. He constantly tested France around the fringes with his trademark sniping game, which led to him scoring his first try of the 2026 international season. He continued to prod and probe around the A-gap, creating two line breaks and finishing the night with 49 metres gained.
After a strong first stint, Roigard picked up where he left off in the second half. His kicking game remained sharp, and through a piece of trademark support play, he found himself dotting down for a second try.
With his performance being about 95% positive, I would be remiss not to mention a couple of wayward passes, which have become a slight trend across his last 160 minutes of rugby. That said, it feels like the kind of issue that will be ironed out quickly enough.
The Defence | Stock Down 📉
After months and months of build-up to the first All Blacks Test at the brand-new Te Kaha Stadium, under a new coach and captain, it was a rather deflating experience to have France score within a minute and a half and your first five sent to the bin for a high tackle. The game would somewhat continue in this fashion for the All Blacks, as while they continued to score in an efficient manner, they were stuck in an arm wrestle where France were generally able to keep up against a leaky All Blacks defence.
The reason why this is also a slight worry is that people were questioning the choice of defensive coach in Tana Umaga, coming off a campaign where his Moana Pasifika team were very often on the end of shipping 50 points. Not to say this has proven the doubters correct, because it is early doors, but it certainly won’t quiet them down.
Ruben Love | Stock Up 📈
The much-anticipated and overdue Ruben Love start at 10 got off to about as bad a start as possible. As we know, a minute thirty into his first-five career, Love, on a recovering tackle, made a high shot on the French attacker and, after conceding the try, ended up sitting in the bin for 10 minutes.
His side rallied around him, actually winning that period 5-0, and after being introduced back into the fold, he looked exactly like the player we saw donning the Hurricanes 10 jersey. He was explosive, taking the line on with his famous left-foot step, while also showing off his quick-draw passing, which unlocked plenty of All Black counter-attacks.
After seeing McKenzie missing from the sideline, Love resumed all kicking duties, showing the faith the team has in him, and based on the press conference after the game, he was in complete command of the side in tough moments.
Damian McKenzie | Stock Down 📉
Dave Rennie made the bold claim that between Damian McKenzie and Will Jordan, the All Blacks have the two best fullbacks in the world. McKenzie, who was under plenty of scrutiny after not having his greatest day out in the Super Rugby final, would have been keen to get back into the good graces of New Zealand rugby fans.
When it came to the performance, it felt like he was just trying too hard to be the deciding factor in a couple of moments and was maybe too optimistic with ball in hand. This resulted in him tying the game for most turnovers lost, with one I remember being on a counter-attack out of their own 22.
It wasn’t all negative for McKenzie, though, who was clean at the back under the high ball and, most of all, was able to control a 14-man side around the park well, in my opinion.
