# All Blacks defeat France in thrilling Nations Championship opener

New Zealand narrowly beat France in a high-paced, dramatic opening match of the new Nations Championship. The result establishes early momentum for the All Blacks in the expanded international rugby competition.

**Importance:** 3/5

## Sources

### Sports
- [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c5yze25d46do?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 09:03:29 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/04/australia-vs-ireland-wallabies-nations-championship-rugby-union-international-aus-v-ire-live-updates) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 11:02:21 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/04/all-blacks-france-nations-championship-2026-match-report) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 09:46:57 GMT
- [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c0my2xvzg3do?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:35:31 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/11/australia-vs-france-wallabies-nations-championship-rugby-union-international-aus-v-fra-live-updates) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:50:03 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/11/australia-wallabies-france-nations-championship-2026-match-report) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 09:56:09 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/11/fiji-v-england-nations-championship-rugby-union-live) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 12:50:11 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/11/south-africa-v-scotland-nations-championship-rugby-live) — Sat, 11 Jul 2026 16:53:54 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/18/australia-vs-italy-wallabies-nations-championship-rugby-union-international-aus-v-ita-live-updates) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 10:55:45 GMT
- [The Guardian Sport](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jul/18/south-africa-v-wales-nations-championship-rugby-live) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 16:56:16 GMT
- [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c74g58vzjj4o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 22:16:19 GMT