An ill-disciplined All Blacks have been well-beaten by hosts France in Paris, crashing to their first Rugby World Cup pool stage defeat just a fortnight on from the lows of their record loss to the Springboks.
After Mark Telea got the All Blacks off to the best possible start with a slick try, France's forward pack took control of the second half en route to a 27-13 win - brightening their chances of winning a World Cup on home soil.
New Zealand looked to have the hosts out on their feet at the back end of the opening stanza but the three-time world champion All Blacks failed to push on.
The All Blacks' game plan of playing with a high-tempo was obvious early on, and reaped its rewards in the first half. Despite going into the break down 9-8, they pounced through a second Telea try straight after halftime to give them a 13-9 lead.
But, apart from the try to Telea - who was the standout performer for the All Blacks - France dominated proceedings in the second half and made New Zealand pay for a lopsided penalty count and costly errors.
A yellow card to Will Jordan for a dangerous tackle that knocked Thomas Ramos in the air was the cue for the floodgates to open. Ramos went on to kick another two penalties before replacement Melvyn Jaminet grabbed France's second to seal the deal.
In the end, it was the All Blacks' poor discipline, a similar story in their 35-7 defeat to South Africa in the UK two weeks ago - that cost them any chance of toppling the hosts and leaving coach Ian Foster's side with plenty more questions and doubts to answer.
Now, the All Blacks are left with no room to breathe, needing to win three games to avoid becoming the first New Zealand side to fail to advance from the pool stage of a World Cup - starting against Namibia in a week's time.
France 27 (Penaud, Jaminet tries; Ramos con, 5 pens) All Blacks 13 (Tela 2 tries; Mo'unga pen).
