Wesley Fofana scored a fine try on his return to international level but France could not overcome New Zealand in the third and final Test, going down 49-14 in Dunedin.
Les Bleus started strongly, as they had done in each of the first two Tests, and scored two first-half tries through replacement Baptiste Serin and Fofana but trailed 21-14 at half-time.
And New Zealand were able to pull away in the second half, with Damian McKenzie getting his second try and then Rieko Ioane helping himself to a hat-trick as the French defence was overwhelmed.
FLYING FRENCH START
France have scored first in all three Tests, and this clash in Dunedin was arguably their best start of the series.
They piled on huge pressure although the home defence held out initially, while France lost skipper Morgan Parra to injury after just eight minutes.
However they continued to press, enjoying a monopoly of territory and possession, with Serin, on for Parra, scoring the try.
It came after a lovely step from Fofana, and then a clever offload off the deck from centre partner Rémi Lamerat, with Serin then dummying his way over. Anthony Belleau added the conversion.
RETURN OF FOFANA
New Zealand responded in clinical fashion, Ben Smith crossing for his 32nd Test try, and after a clever lineout, Matt Todd crossed for a second to make it 14-7.
France hit back though, with Gaël Fickou making a searing break to get them into New Zealand territory once more. After several more phases of possession, it was Fofana, running a great line and showing his strength, who collected Belleau’s delayed pass to dot down.
That made it 14-14, but McKenzie’s try just after the half-hour, off the back of an All Black scrum in the French 22, gave New Zealand the lead going into the break.
LINEOUT STRUGGLES
While France were competitive in the first half, they struggled to maintain that intensity in the second half.
One of the biggest issues was their lineout. At first glance, eight wins from ten looks like a reasonable effort, but their inability to get any clean ball, as well as one crucial steal from Scott Barrett really hurt Les Bleus.
Denied attacking ball from their set-piece, it really limited what France could do with the ball in the second half, where the possession stats were reversed.
IOANE THREAT
If France were going to challenge for the win, they needed to score first in the second half. Instead it was McKenzie who took advantage of a favourable match-up in midfield, spotting a prop in front of him before then rounding Fickou for his second try.
After that it was the Ioane show, the winger finishing one brilliant move off the back of a quick hands to race through.
He added two more, with McKenzie completing a perfect seven from seven from the kicking tee to wrap up a convincing victory.
