Comment: It's not exactly the end of the world, but Doors frontman, bad poet and former Parisian resident Jim Morrison's words ring true for the end of this All Black season.
Photo: PhotoSport / James Crombie
Outgunned, outfought and again outcoached, they seemed desperately in need of some stranger's hand as they fell 40-25 to a very good French side at a rapturously deafening Stade de France this morning.
This was going to be a major marker for both sides as to their progress since their respectively disappointing exits from the last World Cup, with the hosts clearly having figured out exactly what to do before the game even kicked off.
Which is why the All Blacks were staring down the barrel of their largest halftime deficit ever as they headed to the changing rooms. Everything France did worked, from their set piece to the impossibly casual running from broken play by Romain Ntamack and Damian Penaud. Melvyn Jaminet couldn't miss off the tee and there were serious worries that unless the All Blacks could wake up, they would be down by a record margin at fulltime as well.
The fightback did come, but like last weekend in Dublin, it wasn't anywhere near enough. It's laudable that they did manage to get within a penalty goal of the lead, however it's pretty important to note that two of those tries came from very friendly officiating (none other than our old friend Wayne Barnes).
But that is rugby, you take your chances when they arise. Which is why the French response to that setback is all the more impressive, with Ntamack nonchalantly strolling along his dead ball line and setting off upfield to almost set up what would have been the greatest try of all time.
If the first half was the punishing jabs and body work, that moment was the hook to the jaw, flooring any hope of an All Black comeback and evoking the brilliance of French rugby of years gone by.
The moment the momentum shifted?@FranceRugby at their very best
— World Rugby (@WorldRugby) November 20, 2021
@autumnnations
pic.twitter.com/FctVCPXJaq
The only other upside from this is that we've once again been reminded that putting the All Blacks in grey jerseys is a terrible idea, only slightly less terrible than having them in away jerseys in the first place given there would have been no problem at all differentiating black from the blue of the French.
The result snapped a 48-year unbeaten streak in the French capital for the All Blacks too, with the last loss coming while Marlon Brando and Bernardo Bertolucci's controversial Last Tango In Paris would have been screening in cinemas. With the World Cup final to be played in the same venue, the All Blacks will be hoping this is not their last tango in the Stade de France, either.
The All Blacks react following their loss to France this morning. Photo: AFP
Perhaps the most telling part of the result is that, honestly, it's probably not the one that is going to be talked about the most in the rugby world after this weekend. With England's massive win over the Springboks followed by an extremely controversial victory by Wales over the Wallabies, the All Blacks almost seemed like a bit of an afterthought - they went in with huge clouds over their heads so really, is anyone particularly surprised that France won?
French lock Paul Willemse. Photo: AFP
That's the end of it for the All Black season, but nowhere near the end of the discussion about this team and where it's headed. While they fly back it's likely that talk of axes swinging and fingers pointing will rage, but at least Foster isn't alone in that regard, because earlier in Castres the Black Ferns ended their wretched tour with yet another defeat. That leaves them winless this season and also means they have lost their last six tests in a row - a record they now shamefully share with the 1949 All Blacks.
There was a massive amount of talk in their pre-match Zoom press conference about the need for discipline, both from coach Glenn Moore and the players, however they then completely disregarded their own advice in the 29-7 loss. The penalty count was once again a deciding factor in the result, as the team either failed miserably to adapt to what are either very different interpretations from the referees, or simply forgot the grave ramifications of infringing against a side with a solid set piece.
The talk about how this happened will flow too, at least it should if we are to hope for an improvement next season. This has been an incredibly disappointing fortnight for the black jersey, no matter who has been wearing it.
