In June 2013, France played a three-test series against New Zealand as part of the 2013 mid-year rugby test series.^[1] This was the sides' first encounter since they met in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, which New Zealand won 8–7. It was France's first test series against the All Blacks since their 2009 two-test tour of New Zealand, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Quick Facts Coach(es), Tour captain(s) ...

2013 France rugby union tour of New Zealand
Coach(es)	Philippe Saint-André
Tour captain(s)	Thierry Dusautoir
Top point scorer(s)	Jean-Marc Doussain (24)
Top try scorer(s)	Noa Nakaitaci (2)
Top test point scorer(s)	Jean-Marc Doussain (6)
Top test try scorer(s)	Wesley Fofana (1)
Summary	P W D L
Total	04 01 00 03
Test match	03 00 00 03
Opponent	P W D L
New Zealand	3 0 0 3
Tour chronology
Previous tour	Argentina 2012
Next tour	Australia 2014

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The tour began at the stadium where they last played each other, Eden Park in Auckland on 8 June. Following this, they played a mid-week match against the Auckland Super Rugby franchise, the Blues, at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland on 11 June.^[2] The second test was played in Christchurch at Rugby League Park on 15 June, and the third test at Yarrow Stadium in New Plymouth on 22 June.

Following their later encounter in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final France and New Zealand had different fortunes.

France, under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Philippe Saint-André, endured a mixed 2012 Six Nations Championship (ending 4th with 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses) which was the last outing of several key figures of the squad with the likes of Julien Bonnaire, Imanol Harinordoquy, Lionel Nallet, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Aurélien Rougerie, William Servat and Dimitri Yachvili playing their last games in the France jersey while only a couple of players (Wesley Fofana and Yoann Maestri) received their first caps. The Summer tour of Argentina then marked the rise of new players like Brice Dulin, Maxime Machenaud, Fofana and Maestri and saw the return in the mix of Thomas Domingo (who had missed on the World Cup due to injury), Yoann Huget (who had missed on the World Cup due to suspension) and Frédéric Michalak (back from his stint in Super Rugby after having fallen out of favour of French rugby) while experienced players like Vincent Clerc and Thierry Dusautoir were rested, the captaincy being handed to Pascal Papé. The Series was drawn 1-1. France then ended 2012 on a high with three straight wins in the Autumn Internationals over Australia, Argentina and Samoa, claiming the fourth spot in the IRB World Rankings which gave them First Seed status for the 2015 Rugby World Cup draw thus avoiding New Zealand, Australia and South Africa at pool stage. However the 2013 Six Nations Championship was a real disappointment as France ended up bottom of the table, claiming only one win and a draw with a squad that had not much evolved since the previous Summer - Antonie Claassen, Gaël Fickou, Jocelino Suta and Sébastien Vahaamahina being the only new caps while long-time absentees Mathieu Bastareaud and Yannick Nyanga were recalled. Philippe Saint-André stated that the Top 14 final being played just one week prior to the first test, players taking part in this final and thus joining the squad late would not feature in the first test.^[8]

New Zealand also started 2012 with a new head coach with former assistant coach Steve Hansen taking over Graham Henry's role. The All Blacks whitewashed Ireland during their Summer tour, winning the series 3-0 with a remarkable 60-0 victory in the third Test, their largest ever winning margin over Ireland. New Zealand followed with a perfect 2012 Rugby Championship - which featured Argentina for the first time - winning all six of their games. However their traditional Bledisloe Cup match in October put an end to their 16-game winning streak when they drew (18-18) with Australia. The All Blacks went on to hammer Scotland, Italy and Wales (scoring 30+ points each time) in the end-of-year tests before suffering their first defeat in two years at the hands of England on December 1. New Zealand however remained on top of the IRB World Rankings and were given Top Seed status for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Starting in January 2013, stalwart All Blacks captain Richie McCaw was granted a six-month sabbatical from rugby to try and extend his career up to the 2015 World Cup. He has thus not taken any part in the 2013 Super Rugby campaign nor will he take part in the mid-year tests series against France. He is due to resume his international career in the 2013 Rugby Championship after a few stints with his Christchurch club side.

8 June 2013 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	23–13	France
Try: A. Smith 32' c Cane 37' c Con: Cruden (2/2) 33', 38 Pen: Cruden (3/6) 21', 60', 74'	Report[9]	Try: Fofana 9' c Con: Machenaud (1/1) 10' Pen: Machenaud (1/2) 35' Lopez (1/1) 46'

Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 45,561 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

FB 15 Israel Dagg  66' RW 14 Ben Smith OC 13 Conrad Smith IC 12 Ma'a Nonu LW 11 Julian Savea FH 10 Aaron Cruden  74' SH 9 Aaron Smith  65' N8 8 Kieran Read (c) OF 7 Sam Cane BF 6 Liam Messam RL 5 Brodie Retallick LL 4 Luke Romano TP 3 Owen Franks  60' HK 2 Dane Coles  55' LP 1 Wyatt Crockett  74' Replacements: HK 16 Keven Mealamu  55' PR 17 Ben Franks  60' PR 18 Ben Afeaki  74' LK 19 Jeremy Thrush FL 20 Victor Vito SH 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow  65' FH 22 Beauden Barrett  74' CE 23 Rene Ranger  66' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Yoann Huget RW 14 Adrien Planté OC 13 Florian Fritz  69' IC 12 Wesley Fofana LW 11 Maxime Médard FH 10 Camille Lopez  65' SH 9 Maxime Machenaud  42' N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo  36' BF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c) RL 5 Yoann Maestri  70' LL 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina TP 3 Luc Ducalcon  51' HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski  57' LP 1 Thomas Domingo  51' Replacements: HK 16 Guilhem Guirado  57' PR 17 Vincent Debaty  51' PR 18 Daniel Kötze  51' LK 19 Alexandre Flanquart  70' FL 20 Yannick Nyanga  36' SH 21 Jean-Marc Doussain  42' FH 22 Frédéric Michalak  65' CE 23 Maxime Mermoz  69' Coach: Philippe Saint-André

• Ben Afeaki earned his first full international cap for New Zealand
• Alexandre Flanquart, Daniel Kötze, Camille Lopez and Adrien Planté earned their first full international caps for France.

11 June 2013 19:05 NZST (UTC+12)

Blues	15–38	France
Try: Parsons 57' m Moala 62' c Con: McKenzie (1/2) 63' Pen: Kerr (1/1) 2'	Report[10]	Try: Fickou 44' c Nakaitaci 48' c, 51' m Kayser 66' c Con: Doussain (3/4) 45', 49', 67' Pen: Doussain (4/5) 4', 10', 21', 24'

North Harbour Stadium, Auckland[11] Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

FB 15 Marty McKenzie RW 14 Frank Halai OC 13 Malakai Fekitoa IC 12 Jackson Willison LW 11 George Moala FH 10 Baden Kerr  17' SH 9 Jamison Gibson-Park  52' N8 8 Peter Saili OF 7 Brendon O'Connor BF 6 Kane Barrett  43' RL 5 Culum Retallick LL 4 Anthony Boric  50' TP 3 Ofa Tu'ungafasi  57'  72' HK 2 James Parsons (c)  66' LP 1 Sam Prattley  72' Replacements: HK 16 Quentin MacDonald  66' PR 17 Angus Ta'avao  57' LK 18 Liaki Moli  50' LK 19 Ronald Raaymakers FL 20 Sean Polwart  43' FH 21 Chris Noakes  17'  52' CE 22 Tevita Li  52' SH 23 Wayne Ngaluafe  52' Coach: Sir John Kirwan

FB 15 Maxime Médard  50' RW 14 Noa Nakaitaci OC 13 Gaël Fickou IC 12 Maxime Mermoz LW 11 Marc Andreu FH 10 Rémi Talès  47' SH 9 Jean-Marc Doussain  68' N8 8 Antonie Claassen OF 7 Bernard Le Roux  52' BF 6 Yannick Nyanga (c)  50' RL 5 Alexandre Flanquart LL 4 Christophe Samson  60' TP 3 Nicolas Mas  52' HK 2 Guilhem Guirado LP 1 Eddy Ben Arous  57' Replacements: HK 16 Benjamin Kayser  50' PR 17 Vincent Debaty  57' PR 18 Daniel Kötze  52' LK 19 Sébastien Vahaamahina  60' N8 20 Damien Chouly  52' SH 21 Frédéric Michalak  47' FH 22 Camille Lopez  68' FB 23 Brice Dulin  50' Coach: Philippe Saint-André

• Eddy Ben Arous, Bernard Le Roux, Noa Nakaitaci and Rémi Talès made their first senior appearance for France. However, as the match was not granted Test status, they remained uncapped.
• Having represented New Zealand on 24 occasions, Anthony Boric was the only full international among the Blues team.

15 June 2013 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	30–0	France
Try: Savea 3', c B Smith 48' c Barrett 76' c Con: Cruden (3/3) 4', 49', 77' Pen: Cruden (3/4) 22', 54', 64'	Report[12]

Rugby League Park, Christchurch Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

FB 15 Israel Dagg RW 14 Ben Smith  75' OC 13 Conrad Smith IC 12 Ma'a Nonu LW 11 Julian Savea  59' FH 10 Aaron Cruden SH 9 Aaron Smith  59' N8 8 Kieran Read (c) OF 7 Sam Cane BF 6 Liam Messam  62' RL 5 Sam Whitelock  68' LL 4 Luke Romano TP 3 Owen Franks  68' HK 2 Dane Coles  58' LP 1 Wyatt Crockett  62' Replacements: HK 16 Andrew Hore  58' PR 17 Tony Woodcock  62' PR 18 Ben Franks  68' LK 19 Jeremy Thrush  68' FL 20 Victor Vito  62' SH 21 Piri Weepu  59' FH 22 Beauden Barrett  75' CE 23 Rene Ranger  59' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Maxime Médard  40' RW 14 Adrien Planté OC 13 Florian Fritz  59' IC 12 Wesley Fofana LW 11 Yoann Huget FH 10 Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Maxime Machenaud  64' N8 8 Louis Picamoles  53' OF 7 Bernard Le Roux BF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c) RL 5 Yoann Maestri LL 4 Christophe Samson  64' TP 3 Nicolas Mas  67' HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski  50' LP 1 Thomas Domingo  67' Replacements: HK 16 Benjamin Kayser  50' PR 17 Vincent Debaty  67' PR 18 Luc Ducalcon  67' LK 19 Sébastien Vahaamahina  64' FL 20 Yannick Nyanga  53' FB 21 Brice Dulin  40' FH 22 Rémi Talès  64' CE 23 Mathieu Bastareaud  59' Coach: Philippe Saint-André

Notes:

• Kieran Read (New Zealand) earned his 50th cap in this match.
• Jeremy Thrush (New Zealand), Bernard Le Roux and Rémi Talès (both France) made their international debuts.
• This was the first time New Zealand kept a clean sheet against France.
• New Zealand took an unassailable 2–0 lead in the test series.

22 June 2013 19:35 NZST (UTC+12)

New Zealand	24–9	France
Try: B Smith 35' m Barrett 80' Con: Carter (1/2) 80+1' Pen: Carter (4/6) 15', 49', 58', 72'	Report[13]	Pen: Doussain (2/4) 39', 45' Drop: Fritz 7'

Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

FB 15 Israel Dagg RW 14 Ben Smith OC 13 Conrad Smith IC 12 Ma'a Nonu  77' LW 11 Rene Ranger  72' FH 10 Dan Carter SH 9 Piri Weepu  41' N8 8 Kieran Read (c) OF 7 Sam Cane  72' BF 6 Victor Vito  70' RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Luke Romano TP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Andrew Hore  63' LP 1 Wyatt Crockett  41' Replacements: HK 16 Keven Mealamu  63' PR 17 Tony Woodcock  41' PR 18 Ben Franks FL 19 Steve Luatua  70' N8 20 Matt Todd  72' SH 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow  41' FH 22 Beauden Barrett  77' WG 23 Charles Piutau  72' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Marc Andreu OC 13 Florian Fritz  63' IC 12 Wesley Fofana LW 11 Yoann Huget 3' to 9' FH 10 Rémi Talès  72' SH 9 Jean-Marc Doussain  58' N8 8 Antonie Claassen  72' OF 7 Damien Chouly BF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c) RL 5 Yoann Maestri 71' to end' LL 4 Alexandre Flanquart  58' TP 3 Nicolas Mas  64' HK 2 Benjamin Kayser  64' LP 1 Thomas Domingo  64' Replacements: HK 16 Dimitri Szarzewski  64' PR 17 Eddy Ben Arous  64' PR 18 Luc Ducalcon  64' LK 19 Sébastien Vahaamahina  58' FL 20 Bernard Le Roux  72' SH 21 Maxime Machenaud  58' FH 22 Camille Lopez  72' CE 23 Mathieu Bastareaud  3'  9'  63' Coach: Philippe Saint-André

Notes:

• Eddy Ben Arous earned his first full international cap for France in this match.
• Steve Luatua, Charles Piutau and Matt Todd earned their first full international caps for New Zealand in this match.
• Joe Moody and Francis Saili of New Zealand and Noa Nakaitaci of France failed to appear in any of the Tests thus remaining uncapped at the end of the tour.
• Having won the third Test, the All Blacks completed the tour clean sweep.

Following the tour the All Blacks went on to record a perfect 2013 Rugby Championship against Argentina, Australia and South Africa with six wins out of six matches for the second time in a row in as many instances of the competition.

During the end-of-year internationals they went on to beat successively Australia, Japan, France, England and Ireland thus finishing 2013 undefeated with 14 wins out of 14 matches, the first national team to ever achieve this feat in the professional era.

After suffering their fourth defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the same year in their first match of the end-of-year internationals, France overcame Tonga before losing to South Africa thus finishing the year with only two wins out of eleven matches.

France then experienced a mixed 2014 Six Nations Championship with three wins (against England and Italy at home and Scotland away) and two losses (to Wales away and Ireland at home), ending up fourth.

During the 2014 mid-year internationals New Zealand hosted England while France toured Australia.

• History of rugby union matches between France and New Zealand
• 2013 mid-year rugby test series