KEY POINTS:
It wasn't until the 78th minute in Paris yesterday that the Kiwis managed to secure the only win of their tour with a 22-14 victory over France, a result that does nothing to cement places for most of the tour party ahead of next year's World Cup.
The Kiwis do not look or play like a team. Yesterday they lacked cohesion on attack - possibly because they under-estimated the French - their moves breaking down with schoolboy errors, and a miserable 50 per cent completion rate inviting the home team to take dominance.
When the Kiwis did get to the red zone they still looked clueless, despite a month together in camp. Unbelievably, they were twice caught in possession on the last tackle and within spitting distance of the try-line.
When France got there, they produced defensive pressure and smart set plays and generally scored, showing what their coach John Monie has achieved with a squad built half from fulltime professionals, half from the French domestic competition.
Kiwis coach Gary Kemble has a squad of established NRL and Super League players who seem to lack everything, including motivation.
The result might have been very different yesterday. At 50 minutes France were up 14-10 and playing inventive football, when secondrower Eric Anselme spun over the line in a gang tackle. But the video referee ruled he had lost the ball. Had the try been given the Kiwis may well have been forced into a panicked defeat. It was that close.
At no stage did the far better equipped and fitter New Zealand team look to be on top, bar the last minutes.
Wing Shaun Kenny-Dowall was tackled out on the corner post and prop Fuifui Moimoi was denied by the video ref. Then Thomas Leuluai stepped and spun through traffic to crack the French defence and Paul Whatuira was the lucky recipient of a ball knocked free by a tackler.
There was too much power game from the Kiwis, not enough finesse. It's as if they have forgotten how to use the ball to beat a man.
And that's not the only thing it looks like they've forgotten. The kick-off was allowed to go into touch. A scrum and five tackles later, France scored when halfback Maxime Greseque grubbered through for Alselme.
In the first 10 minutes the Kiwis completed just one set of six, a dismal start that gave the home side the front foot.
Their huge props, Adel Fellous and David Ferriol and bench back-up Jean-Christophe Bourlin, won the early competition for ground-gain and the Kiwis didn't get momentum until their bench men Jeff Lima and Moimoi came on.
At 34 minutes they finally got the lead with a decent play. Five-eighth Ben Roberts put a kick over the defenders and halfback Jeremy Smith caught it then sent a long cut-out pass to Kenny-Dowall to score. So it was 10-8 at the break.
But after the rest the Kiwis rolled out more errors. And soon after France scored when a dumb pass went wayward.
It wasn't until Dene Halatau was victim of a lifting tackle, and then Warriors prop Sam Rapira was felled when attempting a tackle on Cyril Gossard and left on a stretcher, that the Kiwis lifted and got their act together. At the end, they came home strongly.
But it was too little and almost too late. Of those on the field yesterday, captain Roy Asotasi was unusually quiet.
Simon Mannering at lock was their best. Again, fullback Sam Perrett was strong but again he showed some positional lapses in defence.
Teenage wings Chase Stanley and Kenny-Dowall both had strong games on attack and defence and both look to be stars of the future. Leuluai provided good threat in the middle of the park after he came off the bench. Louis Anderson worked hard.
The halves Smith and Roberts were solid and the kicking game better.
But looking to 2008, little is determined. Smith, Roberts and Leuluai have all had their moments in the halves, good and bad, during he last five weeks. None has done enough to cement a World Cup jersey.
Others may have played their way out of contention on this tour. Moimoi, Jeremy Smith (Souths), Taniela Tuiaki, Clinton Toopi, Lance Hohaia, Tame Tupou, Dene Halatau, Greg Eastwood and Frank Pritchard are among those who will need big seasons in NRL or Super League in order to hold out others in their positions who were invalided out.
Most of all, captain Asotasi needs leadership back-up.
