France started with a flush, throwing an array of questions at the All Blacks with their forward power and backline sorties. But for all that clout they gained nothing. New first five-eighths Morgan Parra hit the post with a dropped goal and then a Maxime Mermoz bust was halted before the line.
When the Tricolors looked up at the scoreboard their onslaughts had not made any impression.
Another chance came with a scrum near the All Black line. This was one of the tests within the match.
The French mantra for success is "no scrum, no win". When they were crunched off the ball and penalised, much of their early animation went with it. The night at the office was starting to take on sinister tones.
When Ma'a Nonu cut them up in midfield soon after to start the chain of events which sent Adam Thomson in at the corner, the French esprit took another hit.
"We suffered in the scrum and psychologically after they scored it was tough for us," French coach Marc Lievremont said.
He also lamented some basic defensive errors, but pointed out some late resistance.
Late was too late, though. France had another dab, but this time the All Blacks showed they were equally powerful on defence. Left wing Richard Kahui came out of the line perfectly to envelop Damien Traille and quell the move.
In a 10-minute hell-raising run, the All Blacks scored tries to Thomson, Cory Jane, and Israel Dagg; Daniel Carter converted two and with just a quarter of the test gone, the All Blacks led 19-0. The test was secure, damned near anyway though the class of '99 would have been queasy until deep into the game.
Jerome Kaino continued the uncompromising work which has been so impressive all season, Keven Mealamu cajoled and inspired his mates while Sam Whitelock was prominent in his roles.
The test stagnated in the second quarter, but when Dagg eased over for his second try just after the break, the All Blacks reinforced the message that this game belonged to them.
"We found space in behind them," All Black coach Graham Henry said. "We changed some of our ideas and the launch work off set piece early was very good."
Henry pointed out his pleasure at the try to Jane from a lineout move setup by Piri Weepu's deception, and how the halfback had been able to put a number of his teammates into space with his passing.
"It was a pleasing result. We played well for most of the time. It was good to play some very strong opposition," said Henry.
The nature of the test meant the All Blacks had produced strong segments under pressure against a quality French opposition.
They also needed to develop other areas of their performance and that was an ideal result for the coaching staff.
The defensive line had struck a few problems but those issues were only uncovered in that type of tough internationals.
For much of the test the All Black scrum was dominant. Loosehead prop Tony Woodcock had hung in well for 60 minutes, but faded in the final quarter as his lack of game time told.
Referee Alain Rolland penalised Woodcock and warned him late about three scrum penalties; those sort of things, Henry said, were the improvements needed for later in the tournament.
It was a night when much of the attention fell on McCaw, his 100th cap and the special memories he said he would take from the occasion.
"I tried to go about it like I do each test," was his uncluttered explanation. He'd had a false start last week in Hamilton so it was great to get out on Eden Park.
McCaw said he had "huge respect" for Hobbs, who had been central to New Zealand hosting the tournament and had been through tough times with his health.
"He is on the improve and to have him there was special."
