Hansen Changes Paris Team

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New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has made wholesale changes to his line-up for Saturday's clash with France in Paris.

The All Blacks, who have yet to lose in 2013, warmed up for the match at the Stade de France with a 54-6 rout of Japan.

However only four players remain in the starting XV for the much tougher test against France - with Charles Piutau, Ben Smith, Dan Carter and Richie McCaw set to tackle Les Bleus.

McCaw, though, returns to his favoured role on the openside, while Piutau switches wings.

United

Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Ma'a Nonu and Aaron Smith will come into the back division, while Kieran Read, Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock,Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock are named in the pack.

"The full squad has come together well after the Japan Test and are united with a common purpose - to play well on this European tour and put in performances that we can all be proud of," Hansen said.

"But we know this weekend's test won't be easy - the French will come at us with real physicality, passion and something new."

New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ben Smith,12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Charles Piatau. 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock. 

Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Aaron Cruden, 23 Ryan Crotty.

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Dean's Wallabies End Black Run

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Dan Carter missed a drop goal attempt after the final siren as the Wallabies ended the All Blacks' winning run with a fighting 18-18 try-less draw in the final Bledisloe Cup Test in Brisbane on Saturday.

The World Cup champions were chasing their 17th consecutive victory but were denied by a spare-parts Wallaby side, missing many of their leading stars through injury.

The Australians looked on target to pull off a boilover with a 15-6 lead after 51 minutes, but the All Blacks fought back to 18-15 with nine minutes left.

But fullback Mike Harris levelled the scores minutes later to set up a gripping finale where both sides could taste victory.

Skipper Richie McCaw elected to take a scrum from a penalty deep in New Zealand territory and go after the win and after driving upfield and setting up for a chance at the winning drop goal, Carter's attempt sailed just wide of the right post to leave the scores deadlocked.

New Zealand were bidding to join the 1969 All Blacks and 1998 South African Springboks with 17 successive victories but were once again foiled by the Wallabies, who ended New Zealand's unbeaten 15-match run in a 26-24 win in Hong Kong in 2010.

Harris was on great form in the first half, kicking all his four penalty goal attempts to give the under-strength Wallabies a 12-6 half-time advantage.

The Wallabies began well when they charged down a clearing kick in the opening seconds only for the ball to elude Adam Ashley-Cooper over the dead-ball line.

Carter kicked the All Blacks to a 6-3 lead before New Zealand came the closest to scoring in the first half through winger Hosea Gear.

Israel Dagg's kick ahead was just forced dead by Harris with Gear in hot pursuit midway through the half.

The Wallabies' blindside flanker Scott Higginbotham could be in hot water after his scuffle with All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.

Higginbotham appeared to knee McCaw in the head to trigger the skirmish before appearing to headbutt the All Blacks skipper on the ground. Both players were cautioned by referee Craig Joubert.

Joubert made good on his warning of 'next one goes' when he gave All Blacks prop Tony Woodcock a yellow card for repeated ruck infringements on the half-time siren. Harris kicked his fourth penalty to give the Wallabies a six-point buffer at the turnaround.

Kurtley Beale further lifted the Wallabies' confidence with a prodigious penalty from just inside his own half for a 15-6 lead.

But Carter kicked his third penalty and the Wallabies lost openside flanker Michael Hooper to the sin bin after taking out All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith after he had kicked ahead.

Carter pulled New Zealand to within three points with the resulting penalty in the 56th minute.

Australia lost a line-out on their throw giving the All Blacks possession inside their quarter and they mounted successive mauls before they received a penalty for Carter to level the scores at 15-15 with 13 minutes left.

New Zealand got the big breakthrough when Adam Ashley-Cooper spilled Aaron Cruden's high kick and Nick Phibbs was in an offside position in picking up the ball for an All Blacks penalty.

Carter kicked his sixth penalty nine minutes from time to edge New Zealand in front and in sight of victory.

But Harris levelled with his fifth penalty with five minutes left in what proved to be the final score.

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Southland's McDonald in Cardiac Arrest

Southland Stags' player Hoani MacDonald is reported to be in a critical but stable condition after suffering cardiac arrest mid-match during the NPC Championship semifinal against Counties-Manukau in Pukekohe this afternoon.

MacDonald had vigorous CPR performed on him by paramedics before being taken away in an ambulance to Middlemore Hospital ambulance at 3.15pm.

"Macdonald was taken by ambulance from ECOLight Stadium to Middlemore Hospital," a New Zealand Rugby Union statement said.

"He has been put in an induced coma and is stable."

A spectator said she saw MacDonald collapse away from the play before he was put in recovery position by a team mate.

"He tried to stand up but then just fell over holding his chest," Charleen Beach said. She watched as medics performed CPR for nearly 10 minutes before a defibrillator was used.

A stadium staff member on site said "we got him back".

Counties Manukau won the match 48-23 with four tries in the final 11 minutes, earning a home match for the NPC Championship final against Otago.

They initially kept playing while MacDonald was down, with Southland even scoring a try.

MacDonald made his New Zealand Maori debut in 2004. He has also represented the Junior All Blacks (in 2006 and 2007).

At provincial level he plays for Southland and the Highlanders in Super Rugby.

He hails from the MacDonald family of Marlborough, one of the most noted rugby families in the country.

All Blacks Collect Rugby Championship

New Zealand ran in seven tries to defeat Argentina 54-15 and win the inaugural Rugby Championship.

Martin Landajo's try put the Pumas into an early lead but Cory Jane ran in a hat-trick of tries for the All Blacks.

Winger Julian Savea added a brace of tries while Aaron Smith and Ma'a Nonu also scored as the visitors wrapped up the title with a game to spare.

New Zealand play their final match next weekend against South Africa, who beat Australia 31-8 earlier on Saturday.

The victory means the All Blacks have now extended their winning streak since last year's World Cup to 15 matches.

"We've got the tag of being world champions and we needed to play like them," said Richie McCaw.

"To secure the Rugby Championship was obviously the big goal and it's nice to be able to do that, but to put out that performance is something the guys are pretty happy about."

Argentina scored the first try in an exciting, open match when scrum-half Landajo picked up Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino's pass to dart between two players and touch down.

But Aaron Smith and Jane soon hit back with a try for New Zealand, with Dan Carter converting to pull the world champions ahead.

When Gonzalo Camacho dropped the ball, Savea pounced, kicking it ahead before touching down. He added a second soon aftewards to give New Zealand a 32-8 lead at half-time.

There was better luck for Camacho after the break as he scurried over Argentina's second try but New Zealand asserted their dominance, with tries from Jane and Nonu sealing the win.

"It was one our best performances of the season," said All Blacks coach Steve Hansen. "The manner we did it was very satisfying.

"To be able to attack like that, you have to have a platform and the forwards played very well."

In Pretoria, South Africa scored two quick-fire tries through full-back Zane Kirchner and Bryan Habana to take a 11-point lead over Australiainto the break.

The breakthrough at the Loftus Versfeld, where Australia have not won now in six visits, came in the 22nd minute as full-back Kirchner finished off a long-period of possession in the opposition 22m.

Similar dominance from the host's forward pack saw Habana storm home from close-range soon after.

Australia were struggling to gain any foothold in the game and things got worse when Adam Ashley-Cooper was knocked unconscious in a collision with Kirchner.

Mike Harris scored in the right corner midway through the first half after clever work from Australia's new No. 10 Kurtley Beale, but his score was merely a consolation as Habana soon added a second.

The Wallabies fell further behind at the start of the second half as the Springboks standout flanker Francois Louw pirouetted over the line following a driving maul.

Australia finished the game with 14 players when hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau was forced off with a shoulder problem after they had made all their substitutions.

Habana then ruthlessly took advantage of his team's numerical advantage to claim his third try by bursting clear on the right wing.

Victory for South Africa lifted them into second place on 12 points behind champions New Zealand.

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Hansen Asks for New Laws in Bledisloe

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All Blacks coach Steve Hansen wants the third and final Bledisloe Cup Test to be played according to the experimental law variations.

The new rule changes have come into effect in New Zealand's ITM Cup and also in the new Northern Hemisphere season.

The two main changes are the limit of five seconds for the ball to be cleared from the back of a ruck and a shortened scrum engagement.

The year's last Bledisloe Test, a dead rubber given the All Blacks' 2-0 lead in the series, will be in Brisbane on October 20 after the completion of the four-nation Rugby Championship.

Both the All Blacks and Wallabies then head to Europe in November for their respective end-of-season tours.

Hansen said the schedule made it logical to adopt the experimental rules when the trans-Tasman rivals clash at Suncorp Stadium.

"We've asked for that," he said on Saturday before the All Blacks headed to Argentina for the next round of the Rugby Championship.

"It makes sense. Both teams are going to the Northern Hemisphere, where they are already playing those rules, so commonsense would suggest that we should play under them."

Hansen said it was a case of wait and see as to what the authorities decided, but believed the Wallabies would be in favour.

"I'm pretty sure Australia will be keen as we are."

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Carter Kicks Blacks to Bledisloe Win

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Daniel Carter kicked 17 points as New Zealand beat Australia in their Rugby Championship match at Eden Park.

Fly-half Carter kicked five penalties and converted Israel Dagg's try as the All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 10th successive season.

The Wallabies had captain Will Genia sin-binned for a professional foul and trailed 9-0 at half-time.

Dagg went over after a superb team move to put the game beyond doubt 10 minutes into the second half.

Carter converted the try then added his fifth penalty to give the All Blacks a 22-0 lead, which they should have extended but blew several try-scoring opportunities.

"To lock the Bledisloe up for another year, I'm very proud of the way the guys took to their work," said All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

The All Blacks dominated territory for much of the game, and did not concede a kickable penalty until the 51st minute, though the Wallabies opted to kick into touch for a lineout and then lost the ball.

"We realised the Wallabies would come back more intensely. They certainly did that but we showed what we were made of when we didn't have the ball," added McCaw.

"It was about getting the line speed up and knocking them over. There was a period there where we had to defend on our line and got a turnover so I'm very happy there."

Genia, whose side lost 27-19 to New Zealand in Sydney last week, said: "You have to give credit to this All Blacks side, they're a great team and they have achieved so much.

"They're going to turn up every week and to be honest I think we got taught a lesson tonight."

New Zealand, who have not lost to Australia at Eden Park since 1986, have won 14 of their 17 Tests against their nearest neighbours since Robbie Deans took over as Wallabies coach in 2008.

The two sides meet again in the third match of the series, which is not part of the Rugby Championship, in Brisbane on 20 October.

Blacks Sony Bill in NRL 2013 Return

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All Blacks star Sonny Bill Williams will return to the NRL in 2013 after a stint playing Japanese club rugby.

The 26-year-old dual international told reporters in Hamilton on Monday he would play rugby league in 2013 but refused to elaborate on who he will be playing for.

Williams, who is believed to be joining Sydney Roosters next year, says he had a "handshake agreement" in place for the 2013 NRL season but nothing had been signed.

He will join the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan later this year and will not return to New Zealand rugby after his five-month stint is over.

Japan's Top League season begins on August 31, running until the end of January, and it has been estimated he will earn as much as $1.7 million for his time in Japan.

The timing of the Japanese season will allow Williams to make a return to rugby league in 2013.

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said he was hopeful Williams would again play Test rugby for New Zealand and NZRU chief executive Steve Tew noted that he had not ruled out a return in the future.

Hansen said that while Williams has only been in New Zealand rugby for two seasons his contribution had been immense.

"He came to New Zealand rugby two years ago as a convert player and was similar to Brad Thorn in that regard," Hansen said in a press release.

"Sonny had high level slills and freakish abilities without a fully developed game.

"This season we have seen the birth of Sonny as a rugby player with his game understanding complementing his array of skills.

"His performance in the Test series against Ireland showed that he was world class.

"It is a shame and disappointing that New Zealand Rugby is losing him.

"In talking to him I know the decision has been a tough one but we fully respect why he hs made this decision.

"He is an outstanding athlete who has stamped his mark on the game and hopefully this is not the last time we see him in New Zealand Rugby."

Hansen also praised Williams's manager Khoder Nasser for the way negotiations had been handled.

"Khoder has been nothing but straight up in his dealings with myself and the NZRU and kept us informed right from day one," he said.

"We may not always have agreed but we appreciated his honesty and his transparency."

Will you be happy to see Sonny Bill come back to the NRL? Have your say now.

Williams controversially walked out on his NRL team Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2008, just 18 months into a five-year deal to join French rugby club Toulon.

He was part of last year's Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks team, and showed commanding form in the three-Test series against Ireland last month.

Williams, who is nearing the end of a one-year deal with Super Rugby franchise the Chiefs, is also expected to continue his professional boxing career.

Ireland Humbled in Hamilton

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New Zealand responded to criticism of their display in the second Test by crushing Ireland by a record margin in Saturday's third meeting in Hamilton.

The world champions scored nine tries - four in the first half, five more after the interval - in a ruthless display.

Flanker Sam Cane, centre Sonny Bill Williams with two, and wing Ben Smith crossed inside the first 23 minutes.

Hosea Gear, Liam Messam, Israel Dagg and Adam Thomson added further tries as the All Blacks sealed a 3-0 series win.

Ireland had never beaten New Zealand but had come close in Christchurch a week earlier when Dan Carter's late drop goal snatched a narrow 22-19 victory .

This time, the result was never in doubt as Steve Henson's men reacted to some less than flattering media coverage with an awesome display in the Waikato Stadium.

The World Cup winners were without record points scorer Dan Carter but the performance of local favourite Aaron Cruden at fly-half meant he was not missed.

The Waikato Chiefs player was instrumental in the first three tries before having to go off injured in the first half.

New Zealand got the opening try in the seventh minute after some patient play at the break down. Centre Williams fed to Cruden whose lovely one-handed off-load put flanker Cane in for a try on his first international start.

Cruden provided another one-handed pass out of the tackle to send Williams away for a powerful 12th-minute touchdown.

Seven minutes later the Kiwis pounced again, Williams bursting through the Irish defence after Aaron Smith and Cruden's build-up play.

Cruden, who had converted the first two tries, picked up an injury so full-back Dagg added the additional two points for 21-0 with less then 20 minutes played.

Things were to get worse for Ireland as they surrendered possession in opposition territory when Paddy Wallace's pass came off Brian O'Driscoll's shoulder.

Cruden collected and took the tackle before feeding Conrad Smith who set up winger Ben Smith for his first international try.

Beauden Barrett, on for Cruden, scored his first points for the All Blacks with a penalty to make it 29-0 at half-time.

Ireland's cause was not helped when full-back Rob Kearney was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on just before the interval.

Flanker Cane scored his second try of the match within four minutes of the restart and then winger Gear saw off the challenges of Keith Earls and Fergus McFadden to get in at the left corner for New Zealand's seventh try.

Dagg then got in on the try-scoring act as the grubber kick through from Williams sat up nicely for the Crusaders full-back who eased over for another superb score.

Barrett's conversion made it 53-0, equalling New Zealand's biggest winning margin over the men in green.

Ireland's deficit stretched to an embarrassing 60 when Thompson, just on the field, charged over and Barrett converted once more.

New Zealand: I Dagg; B Smith, C Smith, S B Williams, H Gear; A Cruden, A Smith; T Woodcock, A Hore, O Franks, L Romano, S Whitelock, L Messam, S Cane, R McCaw (capt).

Replacements: K Mealamu, B Franks, B Retallick, A Thomson, P Weepu, B Barrett, T Ellison.

Ireland: R Kearney; F McFadden, B O'Driscoll (capt), P Wallace, K Earls; J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross, D Tuohy, D Ryan, K McLaughlin, S O'Brien, P O'Mahoney.

Replacements: S Cronin, D Fitzpatrick, D O'Callaghan, C Henry, E Reddan, R O'Gara, A Trimble.

NZ's biggest wins against Ireland

2012: NZ 60-0 Ireland (60 pts)

1992: NZ 59-6 Ireland (53 pts)

1997: Ire 15-63 NZ (48 pts)

2010: NZ 66-28 Ire (38 pts)

2005: Ire 7-45 NZ (38 pts)

New Zealand v Ireland - Preview

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Desperate Dan Saves All Blacks

A Dan Carter drop-goal with 60 seconds left on the clock gave 14-man New Zealand a dramatic 22-19 win over Ireland after a gripping encounter in the second Test in Christchurch.

The Irish led 10-9 at half-time, but an Aaron Smith try just after the break edged the All Blacks ahead.

Jonathan Sexton kept his side in touch with solid goal-kicking but Carter, a proud Crusaders player, had the last word.

The record books will state that Ireland have now lost 25 out of 26 fixtures against New Zealand. However, with Israel Dagg sin-binned for a bad tackle on Rob Kearney, they never had a better chance to get that much-needed victory.

The world champions defied ireland's man advantage in the closing eight minutes though, and after one failed attempt Carter slotted a scruffy drop that broke the tourists' hearts.

Ireland ahead

Ireland went ahead when Cian Healy and Kevin McLaughlin had darts at the All Black line before Murray picked from the base of a ruck and backed himself to touch down from two metres out.

Sexton added the extras and Ireland hit the front. It was just reward for a brave decision to kick for the line-out rather than go for three points.

New Zealand, through Conrad Smith and Zac Guildford, pushed forward but Ireland's defence was ferocious. Brian O'Driscoll hacked clear and Sean O'Brien caused trouble inside the All Black half, leading for a penalty concession. Sexton's kick from 35 metres sailed over.

Carter recorded the world champions' first points of the match when referee Nigel Owens suspected the Irish of placing illegal hands in the ruck.

The Crusaders man was not badly shaken after a big hit and made it 10-6 three minutes later after Dan Tuohy was penalised for not rolling away from a tackle on Richie McCaw.

Irish loosehead Mike Ross was the next guilty man at the ruck as he needlessly entered from the side. It gifted Carter a third simple penalty and his kick sneaked in by the left-hand post.

The All Blacks thundered into the Irish as the second half got under way and O'Driscoll was guilty of missing a tackle on Sonny Bill Williams on the right wing. A ruck ensued but Smith dived through a huddle of bodies for his first international try.

Carter added the conversion, but Ireland were awarded a penalty less than 60 seconds later as Thomson was adjudged offside. Sexton had the simple task of slotting a 20-metre penalty over.

McCaw was then lucky not to receive a yellow card after a short, destructive burst from the captain left O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy on the turf. D'Arcy limped off soon after, to be replaced by Ronan O'Gara, and Sexton moved to inside centre.

Penalties were swapped and Ireland continued to pile the pressure and frustrate the home side, before Dagg was yellow carded for a late, head-high hit on Kearney with just nine minutes left on the clock.

Ireland sniffed victory, but Sexton's penalty attempt from the halfway line dropped short, before a harshly adjudged knock-on call against Mike Ross gave the home side the chance to clear.

The All Blacks were not content with getting a draw and they piled forward to give Carter a chance to kick a drop goal to clinch the game. Carter's first effort was wide after he received a poor snap-pass, but the All Blacks remained composed and he made no mistake with his second effort sealing a memorable win.

New Zealand v Ireland - Preview

Ireland face a huge challenge to keep their Test series against New Zealand alive as international rugby returns to Christchurch on Saturday.

Three Julian Savea tries helped the All Blacks beat Ireland 42-10 last weekend.

The All Blacks will not want to slip up as they return to the city for the first time since the 2011 earthquake in which 185 people were killed.

Andrew Trimble is one of four changes for Ireland while Adam Thomson replaces injured Victor Vito for the All Blacks.

Trimble takes over from last weekend's Test debutant Simon Zebo on the wing with Kevin McLaughlin, Mike Ross and Gordon D'Arcy also returning for the Ireland.

McLaughlin is preferred to Peter O'Mahony at flanker with fit-again prop Ross taking over from Declan Fitzpatrick and D'Arcy replacing injured centre Keith Earls.

Despite New Zealand's overwhelming superiority in Auckland, the home side's management were not entirely happy with the display.

The presence of 10 Canterbury players in the All Blacks squad - including skipper Richie McCaw - should also motivate the home side to seal a series victory.

"We went for a drive through the town on the way here," said McCaw.

"I think the guys, and even myself, I haven't been through there properly.

"One of the things we've talked about is one-on-one tackles." Ireland centre Gordon D'Arcy

"You realise the significance of what's happened here and just a wee reminder of that was enough."

The powerful 6.3-magnitude quake in February last year destroyed much of the city centre.

As a result, the Crusaders home ground lost the chance to host seven World Cup matches.

The return of international rugby to a hastily built new stadium has seen all 21,000 tickets sell out quickly.

"It's just great from a Cantabrians point of view to have footy here, and a Test match, and that's what we're looking forward to," added McCaw.

However, conditions may not be inviting with freezing temperatures being predicted for Saturday's game.

Ireland centre D'Arcy acknowledged that Irish tackling will have to improve from last week if another drubbing is to be avoided.

"From myself and Brian's [O'Driscoll] point of view, we know we've got our job cut out," said D'Arcy.

"One of the things we've talked about is one-on-one tackles. That's something we've got to live and die by.

"It's not about the first phase it's that fifth, sixth, seventh phase, that missed tackle, one-on-one and when they get in behind with three guys flooding through against the full-back.

"What we learned was that you can't put three guys into the tackle and breakdown, especially when you have guys like Sonny Bill [Williams] who can make offloads when he's got two players on him.

New Zealand: I Dagg; Z Guildford, C Smith, S Bill Williams, J Savea; D Carter; A Smith; T Woodcock, A Hore, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, A Thomson, R McCaw (capt), K Read. Replacements: H Elliot, B Franks, A Williams, S Cane, P Weepu, A Cruden, B Smith.

Ireland: R Kearney, F McFadden, B O'Driscoll [capt], G D'Arcy, A Trimble, J Sexton, C Murray; C Healy, R Best, M Ross; D Tuohy, D Ryan; K McLaughlin, S O'Brien, J Heaslip. Replacements: S Cronin, D Fitzpatrick, D O'Callaghan, P O'Mahony, E Reddan, R O'Gara, S Zebo.