The All Blacks have launched their 2018 campaign with a bang, humiliating France 52-11 in the first test at Eden Park.
After a closely fought first half, riddled with the kind of inaccuracy you'd expect from the opening contest of the season, the All Blacks took to the field in the second and swiftly settled into their attacking rhythm, not so much nudging the floodgates as blowing them wide open.
A one-man disadvantage for France, after a questionable yellow card for a dangerous tackle, saw the hosts find their feet, a costly period that gave way to two game-changing tries and kick-started the black offensive juggernaut to life.
A rampant New Zealand ran in a total of eight tries, including a 44-0 second half explosion, during which France barely sniffed their opponents' side of halfway.
There were several stand-outs for the All Blacks, most notably hooker Codie Taylor.
The Crusaders front-rower showcased his diverse skillset and spearheaded an impressive performance from the tight-five, who clearly had the wood over the counterparts. He toiled in the tight and was prominent in the loose, scoring one try and assisting on two others.
Winger Ben Smith was a constant threat and Beauden Barrett directed play superbly, despite leaving his goal-kicking boots at home, with just two successful attempts from seven.
Barrett's brothers, Scott and Jordie, were also frequently among the action on their historic night and the pride would've been palpable down on the farm in Pungarehu.
Chiefs prop Karl Tu'inukuafe had a debut to remember, the comfort of a scrum packing down as soon as he took the field proving the perfect antidote for his nerves.
The 24-year-old bound with his hooker and got straight to work, immediately winning the side a penalty and setting the tone for a dominant second-half set-piece for the All Blacks.
The first match of the international season typically has its periods of rustiness and Saturday night was no exception, the All Blacks making uncharacteristic errors, as stray passes missed marks and ball was fumbled at set-piece.
Coach Steve Hansen had emphasised the need for discipline throughout the week and would've been disappointed with the slew of penalties against his charges through the first stanza.
French number 10 Morgan Parra was more than happy to oblige, cancelling out the All Blacks' distinct advantage in both territory and possession.
France opened the try-scoring, as winger Remy Grosso pounced to intercept Ben Smith's rushed clearance from a ruck and return it 40 metres unimpeded.
The hosts held firm and came close to scoring just moments later, when midfielder Ryan Crotty breached the defence from a deft inside ball, but failed to find a streaking Ben Smith in support, one of several miscues by the men in black.
More penalties were traded and then the All Blacks finally breached the French line with a moment for the Barrett family scrapbook, all the three brothers combining to engineer a crisp attacking movement, which was finished off by Beauden in the corner a quick ruck later.
Parra's thunderous penalty from the very centre of the park edged the visitors ahead late, and some stoic line defence saw them withstand a late blitz from the All Blacks as the seconds wound down.
Anton Lienert-Brown dotted down under the bar, but was denied by obstruction upon review, and Sam Whitelock was then held up over the line a few phases later to send the French to the sheds with a deserved 11-8 lead.
The second half started with much intent from the All Blacks, as they imposed themselves at scrumtime, one hulking shove on a defensive France scrum securing a straight-forward penalty to swiftly erase the deficit.
Things became that much more difficult for France with the dispatching of lock Paul Gabrillagues to the sinbin and they paid a large price for it.
The outstanding Beauden Barrett directed a pinpoint grubber into the corner for Taylor to swan-dive on and dot down, all in one movement.
The yellow card was further compounded from the restart, when the All Blacks attacked from a quick line-out for Crotty to fend and create an ounce of space, then link with Taylor, who found Ben Smith with a great offload for the hosts' third try.
Things went from bad to worse for Les Bleus, after Rieko Ioane and Aaron Smith combined on a blindside raid to push the lead out to 29 points, and the rout was on.
Gabrillagues returned to the action, but the All Blacks weren't about to let the French off the hook.
Taylor played another masterful hand in the backline, drawing two defenders and putting Damian McKenzie into a gaping hole to run 60 metres for the side's fifth try.
McKenzie injected himself through the tiring French defence again just a minute later, linking with Ngani Laumape, who steamrolled hapless fullback Maxime Medard to send the scoreline out to 40-11.
In the 75th minute, Ioane latched on to a terrible French pass during one of the visitors' rare attacking forays into NZ territory and returned it 80 metres to twist the dagger.
In the closing moments, Ardie Savea rumbled across the chalk from close range to put a full-stop on an encouraging All Blacks performance.
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