Lakai flags 'soft' defensive lapses despite All Blacks edging France in Christchurch

Peter Lakai admitted the All Blacks have defensive work to do after scraping past France 2 points in Christchurch, with the Hurricanes loose-forward pointing to a string of soft tries conceded as evidence that Dave Rennie’s side are still finding their combinations.

France opened the scoring inside five minutes through Damian Penaud, and Fabien Galthié’s side never made it easy for the hosts. New Zealand’s task was complicated further when Ruben Love was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, though Rennie’s men managed the ten-minute period with enough composure to trail by only two points when Love returned.

Back-to-back tries from Hurricanes halfback Cameron Roigard, either side of half-time, gave the All Blacks the lead, but France refused to fold. A late Matthieu Jalibert try close to the posts set nerves jangling before referee Luke Pearce blew for full time.

Lakai, who was replaced by Wallace Sititi during the second half, was candid when speaking to media after the match. “We scored some brilliant tries, but we also let in a few soft ones as well,” he said. “It’s just polishing — we’ve been together for a week, so I guess it’s just building combinations, and we’ll take our learnings from this week and hopefully apply them next week.”

The 23-year-old identified France’s speed at the breakdown as a particular problem. “We expected them to play quick, especially around the ruck. The nines jumping out, and they obviously came down the middle, and they scored a few soft tries. But we’ll review that come Monday, and hopefully be better.”

Despite the close margin, Lakai was careful not to frame the result as a relief. “No, I wouldn’t say it’s relief. It’s our first test of the year, we’re obviously going to be a little bit rusty, but to come away with the win was the main goal.”

With Will Jordan also crossing for New Zealand, the All Blacks showed enough attacking intent to satisfy Rennie, even if the defensive display leaves clear room for improvement before the sides meet again next week.