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The Bounce
Sunday Special: When curses collide

Sunday Special: When curses collide

A rugby newsletter for ($) subscribers including questionable gun play, sibling try tallies, AUNZ XV folly and a handy guide for assessing player ratings.

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Dylan Cleaver
Jul 13, 2025
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The Bounce
The Bounce
Sunday Special: When curses collide
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Tupou Vaa’i scores a worldie. Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND 43 FRANCE 17

The test-match trailer wrote itself.

The All Blacks have a horrible recent record in Wellington; France have never won in the city.

When two curses collide, only one can survive…

Well, when one side is so understrength to be unrecognisable, you grab hold of whatever marketing tricks you can, right?

While the result was seldom in doubt, it would be remiss not to acknowledge the gains made by the All Blacks as they cast aside a French team in name if not merit. They were better than they were in the first test, particularly in the most important metric of all — the scoreboard.

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