1994 France rugby union tour of Canada and New Zealand

The 1994 France rugby union tour of Canada and New Zealand was a series of matches played in June and July 1994 in Canada and New Zealand by France national rugby union team. In typical French fashion, (in that they are famed for their inconsistency), they lost to Canada, a "Tier 2" Rugby playing nation, and then became the first Northern Hemisphere test side to win a test match series in New Zealand, who are the most dominant rugby side in history.

1994 France rugby union tour of Canada and New Zealand
Summary	P W D L
Total	10 07 00 03
Test match	03 02 00 01
Opponent	P W D L
Canada	1 0 0 1
New Zealand	2 2 0 0

France became the fifth and most recent team after the 1937 Springboks, 1949 Wallabies, 1971 British Lions and 1986 Wallabies to win a test series in New Zealand.

Matches

Scores and results list France's points tally first.

Opposing Team	For	Against	Date	Venue	Status
Canada A	34	31	1 June 1994	Toronto	Tour match
Canada	16	18	4 June 1994	Nepean	Test match
North Auckland	28	23	9 June 1994	Whangarei	Tour match
North Harbour	23	27	12 June 1994	Auckland	Tour match
Waiparapa Bush	53	9	15 June 1994	Masterton	Tour match
New Zealand B	33	25	18 June 1994	Wanganui	Tour match
Nelson Bays	48	16	22 June 1994	Nelson	Tour match
New Zealand	22	8	26 June 1994	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	Test match
Hawke's Bay	25	30	29 June 1994	McLean Park, Napier	Tour match
New Zealand	23	20	3 July 1994	Eden Park, Auckland	Test match

Highlights

The 22–8 victory on 26 June was the biggest win by France over New Zealand up to then. In the second test, on 3 July, New Zealand led 20–16 with three minutes of the match remaining. As they tried to run down the clock, Philippe Saint-André started a move in his own 22 which, 65 seconds later, ended with Jean-Luc Sadourny crossing the French line to score what became known as l'essai du bout du monde (the try from the end of the world), giving them a 23–20 victory.[1] It was the first time a side from the northern hemisphere had won a test series against the All Blacks.[2]

References

1. "Vidéos. Les plus beaux essais des Bleus face aux Blacks". L'Est Républicain (in French). 25 November 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
2. "Histoire du jeu". Rugby-Nomades (in French). Archived from the original on 11 April 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2018.

Further reading

Stephen Jones, ed. (1995). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1995–96. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7816-4.