France 3 New Zealand 47: Henry's 'spacemen' stun France with seven-try rocket

New Zealand have pro-mised to pick their "top 22" for this Saturday's second Test with France in Paris, but yesterday left a little leeway still when their forwards coach, Steve Hansen, said: "The top 22 may not be the one everyone thinks. We'll pick a team to beat France."

The unpalatable truth for the rest of the world, led by the quite flabbergasted French after a seven-try lesson in attack and counter-attack in Lyon, is that the All Blacks have 32 players from which they can perm any combination they like. As Hansen put it: "You hear a lot about rotation; it's just an All Black team that's a bloody good one."

So, for instance, the Fijian-born flyer Sitiveni Sivivatu scored two tries from the left wing and helped organise an all-enveloping defence but cannot be certain of keeping his place. The dogged grit of Keith Robinson may or may not be preferred at lock to the all-court talents of Ali Williams who, before a crowd struck dumb, fashioned a lovely back-handed pass to allow Conrad Smith to race 60 metres for the fourth try.

It was the one which most obviously broke France's spirit, as it came five minutes into the second half for a 30-3 lead. In truth, there was never a sense that the home side had the physical energy or mental awareness to outwit their opponents. Fabien Pelous, the 32-year-old captain and veteran of 110 caps who went to the sin-bin in the 27th minute and was substituted early in the second half, said: "They were on top of us physically so we couldn't go forward. We would put together three phases of play and go backwards in each one so we couldn't do much."

The tourists do not have a dedicated defence coach, but they defended superbly. They do have Hansen and Wayne Smith assisting the head honcho, Graham Henry, and the trio's accumulated wisdom combined with the leadership of Richie McCaw, panache of Dan Carter, and thrust of the adopted Pacific islanders fore and aft is presently unstoppable.

"Is this the best attacking team in my time?" said Anton Oliver, the hooker who won his 50th cap. "Probably we've never been as polished. We've always had very gifted players - the Jeff Wilsons, Jonah Lomus, Christian Cullens - but I think it's been encapsulated now in some really smart coaching. We're just trying to play what's in front of us, not field position. You have to have skill and the confidence to let the pass go, and go where the space is."

Sivivatu did just that on the end of a tapped free-kick after five minutes, brushing off Aurélien Rougerie, and collected his 11th try in 10 Tests not long before the final whistle. Almost every try had some element of French culpability to it. Nevertheless, France resisted wholesale changes yesterday in announcing their 22 for the Paris rematch. The head coach, Bernard Laporte, recalled Serge Betsen and Pepito Elhorga for the flanker Thierry Dusautoir and full-back Julien Laharrague respectively. "We have to get back to work - it's as simple as that," Laporte said.

Oliver confirmed that he and his estimable props Tony Woodcock and Carl Hayman had jettisoned the "threequarter crouch" before engaging at the scrum, to avoid falling foul of the referee and in response to criticism from the French management. Still the rapidity of the All Blacks' "hit" worked to their advantage. And here is some small solace to England's head coach, Andy Robinson: apparently, it is all down to the 2003 world champions. "I sincerely think the English team of 2003 re-emphasised the importance of forward play and experience," said Oliver. "That was their gift to world rugby."

Sivivatu received a text message after the match. His mother, Koleta, had risen in the early hours to watch live coverage at home on the small Fijian island of Vanualevu. The message said simply: "Good game." Spot on, mum.

France: Drop goal Fritz. New Zealand: Tries Sivivatu 2, McCaw, Carter, Smith, Rokocoko, McAlister; Conversions Carter 3; Penalties Carter 2

France: J Laharrague (Perpignan); A Rougerie (Clermont Auvergne), F Fritz (Toulouse), Y Jauzion (Toulouse), C Dominici (Stade Français); D Traille (Biarritz), D Yachvili (Biarritz); S Marconnet (Stade Français), D Szarzewski (Stade Français), P de Villiers (Stade Français), F Pelous (Toulouse, capt), P Papé (Castres), T Dusautoir (Toulouse), J Bonnaire (Bourgoin), E Vermeulen (Clermont Auvergne). Replacements: O Milloud (Bourgoin) for Marconnet, 47; R Ibañez

(London Wasps) for Szarzewski, 47; L Nallet (Castres) for Pelous, 54; R Martin (Stade Français) for Dusautoir, 68; D Marty (Perpignan) for Fritz, 73; J-B Elissalde (Toulouse) for Yachvili, 80.

New Zealand: L MacDonald (Canterbury); J Rokocoko (Auckland), C Smith (Wellington), L McAlister (North Harbour), S Sivivatu (Waikato); D Carter (Canterbury), P Weepu (Wellington); T Woodcock (North Harbour), A Oliver (Otago), C Hayman (Otago), J Ryan (Otago), A Williams (Auckland), J Collins (Wellington), R McCaw (Canterbury, capt), R So'oialo (Wellington). Replacements: K Mealamu (Auckland) for Oliver, 51; B Kelleher (Waikato) for Weepu, 58; J Eaton (Taranaki) for McCaw, 61; M Nonu (Wellington) for Carter, 64; N Tialata (Wellington) for Woodcock, 70; M Muliaina (Waikato) for MacDonald, 78.

Referee: S Dickinson (Australia).