A Jordie Barrett brace inspired New Zealand to a 26-13 victory over 14-man France in Wellington which handed the All Blacks an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series.
The tourists started brightly but lost their grip on the game when Benjamin Fall was sent off for dangerous challenge on Beauden Barrett in the 12th minute which resulted in the 27-year-old fly-half failing a head injury assessment.
Joe Moody and Ben Smith were also on the scoresheet for the hosts, while Cedate Gomes Sa scored France’s only try just before the end.
France thought they had opened the scoring after six minutes when Geoffrey Doumayrou took the ball over the line but a TMO review showed he failed to ground it.
The visitors eventually got off the mark five minutes later through a Morgan Parra penalty but lost Fall to a red card shortly after and New Zealand capitalised, with Moody, Smith and Jordie Barrett all going over before the break.
Another Parra penalty had doubled France’s score before the interval but the All Blacks went further ahead in the 58th minute when Barrett got his second try.
Gomes Sa got a consolation try in the closing stages, with Jules Plisson adding the conversion.
