FULL-TIME! FRANCE 27-13 NEW ZEALAND! What an incredible 80 minutes of rugby. France were magnificent throughout, despite New Zealand's early domination, but the home side stuck to their send of flair, innovation and fearlessness to douse the New Zealand fire! The second half totally belonged to France who were superb. New Zealand remained strong but they paid for their indiscipline. Magnifique France, a stupendous display of rugby to quash the most feared rugby nation. What a start to the World Cup… and please join us again tomorrow for another feast of World Cup rugby action!

New Zealand power forward, not wanting to go down without stamping their authority on the defeat… they're inside the French 5m… the ball pops out of the maul and a Frenchman dots down… and there's the final whistle!

The conversion is missed, but France aren't bothered, as they're home free.

TRY, FRANCE, JAMINET! 27-13; … the ball bounces behind the last New Zealand defender but bounces high, and two Frenchmen cut across one another trying to grab the ball, but it's Melvyn Jaminet who secures it and falls over the line, turns over and dots down for his first Test try… and New Zealand have lost their World Cup opener!

France win their lineout on the halfway line, run the ball and drive into the wall of New Zealand defenders… they're controlling the ball… now it's launched high into the New Zealand 22… the visitors run out of the 22, but they lose the ball, from regain possession, the ball is lofted into the 22…

New Zealand have the scrum 15m from their line with just five minutes to play…

New Zealand push forward on attack… but New Zealand five away another penalty… France pick and run, pulled down, spread the ball wide, it comes to Penaud who drives for the line but can't get there, knocking the ball on while agonisingly close to the line.

PENALTY, FRANCE, RAMOS! 22-13; Slotted perfectly from 15m in from touch on the 10m line… Ramos has given his side a two-score lead and the clock is running dry of sand…

Jordan again empties Ramos on the ground going up for the ball, but this time the referee rules that is was just a penalty and not a card. Ramos is going for poles to make it a two-score game…

Sensational clearance kick from France from near their 22 to just inside the All Blacks 22.

The basics of scrumming seem to have escaped both packs as they get asked to reform… New Zealand win their ball, feed their line… ball to Telea who tries the Campese to get past Penaud but he's reeled in by the Frenchman.

New Zealand to feed the scrum 10 metre ahead of their 22…

Jordan is called back into play by the ref and we're back to 15v15… but has the damage been done!

France win the lineout on their 22… Dupont lofts onto the New Zealand backs… the ball is fed to Telea who started a powerful run, but vive le tackle, the French bring him down and win a penalty.

PENALTY, FRANCE, RAMOS! 19-13; Ramos slots the penalty from just short of the 22m and a few metres to the left of the posts… an easy kick, unless you think about the crowd of 70,000 and a global audience of millions.

New Zealand win the lineout, run at France, but the home side win possession and now they're attacking down the left, New Zealand looking a little worse for wear… and they win a penalty just short of the All Black 22.

France win the lineout and drive hard at the All Blacks, pushing up to their 22… kicked clear from the base of the scrum, and France collect, but Dupont kicks direct into touch.

New Zealand run the ball, bravely pushing out of their 22 and now they're through the halfway line… looks like a forward pass… no problem, France steal possession and are attacking down the left wing… and Barrett is forced to kick clear… and what a kick, all the way past his 22.

Play resumes…

Ramos goes for posts from the penalty but his effort misses, and the teams stop for a drinks break with the home side no doubt ready to crack some champers as they are looking to have control over the 14 men from the land of the long black cloud…

YELLOW CARD, NEW ZEALAND, JORDAN! Huge advantage now for France as Jordan is rightly carded for clattering into a Frenchman rising to collect a kick. Dangerous play… and a dangerous position for New Zealand.

CONVERSION, FRANCE, RAMOS! 16-13; Superbly slotted by the Frenchman from the touchline.

TRY, FRANCE, PENAUD! 14-13; Great reward for adventurous play, the ball is swung out from the scrum and then swung wide to Penaud on the wing and he just has to collect and fall over the line! Vive le France! Great rugby from the hosts!

France, determined, run again at New Zealand and find a way through their defences, only to be pulled down by the All Blacks… and the ref blows for a penalty and… HELLO! They've kicked it into the corner for a lineout and the crowd cheers! Vive le France! Vive running rugby.

The ball is cleared for a French lineout, the home side wins the ball and the forwards try to hold them back… but France run it wide, spreading superbly to the wing, and Penaud sprints 30 metres and slides into the corner for the try… but the TV referee is having a look and he looks to have lost the ball and slipped out of play. Close… but New Zealand have the throw now on their 5m line…

SUBSTITUTION, FRANCE. Woki is replaced by Taofifenuaat

France try to run from the base of the scrum but the New Zealand defence is hot on the defence, pulling the French to ground and winning possession… and they have a scrum now on their 22.

Scrum's not working so France get a free kick… but they're going to take another scrum.

France will scrum about 10m short of the New Zealand tryline… the first scrum doesn't work, so they will thread it in again…

France break into the New Zealand 22 and burst through to the 5m line, only for three All Blacks to bring the runner to ground.

Mo'unga fails again with the conversion, but to be fair it was once again right up against the touchline. He will be disappointed with himself, however.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, TELEA! 9-13; Barrett with a lovely long pass out to Telea on the wing, it bounces up perfectly for the New Zealand wing and he races 22m and dives over to score in the corner. The replay shows a possible forward pass which, you're right, was not greeted with cheers from the home crowd… but the try stands and New Zealand are back in the lead after the break.

Penalty New Zealand! Kick is cleared to the 10m line… Jordan gets the ball and breaks though the French defence…

France immediately rucking on the New Zealand 22… they run the blindside, then switch to the openside… back to the left wing… draw the New Zealand defence… they're into the 22…

KICK-OFF! The second half is underway and there is so much to play for between these giants of World Cup rugby! Half-time stats show New Zealand had 56% of possession… but they trail by a point!

HALF TIME, FRANCE 9-8 NEW ZEALAND. Some superb rugby from both sides, but New Zealand will have some stern words internally during the break about their discipline. Right now France are looking like they might just have the edge if the match continues this way. But… if we see the best of New Zealand in the second half it could all end in tears for the home side. Definitely not a match you want to miss out on… and we'll bring you the second half shortly!

… but France win the ball, control it ahead of their tryline… the pass goes back into their goalline and it's tapped out of play, and the ref blows for half time.

New Zealand on attack now, driving down the right and into the French 22, Jordan breaking the line at pace but being brought to ground… and the French force New Zealand into touch and they will have the lineout just ahead of their 5m line. New Zealand are smelling five points…

France will put the ball into the line just ahead of their own 22… they win the ball uncontested… Dupont kicks deep downfield… New Zealand kick back and find touch.

France drive forward from the New Zealand clearance, but New Zealand turn the ball over and launch a counter-attack down the left flank, but France steal the ball back and clear upfield… this is breathless action here at the Parc…

Ramos from close to the right touchline, 5m in from touch… takes his time… but pulls it ever so slightly to the left of the far post. Not an easy kick, but the Frenchman will be upset to have missed out on a score…

France win the lineout ball and drive forward, they're just short of the 22, now they run to the blindside, pushing hard at the New Zealand defence inside the 22… and the ref blows to penalise New Zealand for holding on the ground! Where has the New Zealand discipline gone? France are going for poles again.

New Zealand now running the ball, from the right wing across to the left, but a powerful French tackle creates turnover ball and France drive down the right wing, New Zealand managing to hustle the ball out for a lineout close to their own 22.

PENALTY, FRANCE, RAMOS! 9-8; A superb kick from Ramos puts the French back in the lead. Brilliant technique and execution.

The two giant packs lock horns… but the All Blacks go down and France win the penalty on the halfway line… and we're going with the driver for posts. A long way but these pros have plenty of distance in their legs.

France restart after the refreshments… but the French pushed ahead of the kicker and we're going to the centre spot for a New Zealand scrum… amateur mistake that from the French.

PENALTY, NEW ZEALAND, MO'UNGA! 6-8; The New Zealand flyhalf hammer it through the poles to take his side in to the lead, and the ref blows for the teams to take a water break.

France ia defending superbly, but they've gone offside… New Zealand push over the line but the ball is lost forward, so we'll go back to the 5m for a New Zealand penalty… and they're going to take the three points, from just a couple of metres wide of the posts.

New Zealand drive through the French defence, work their way into the far right corner, a sniff away from the tryline…

Ramos fumbles the ball on the French 22 and New Zealand have the scrum in an incredible attacking position 15 metres in from touch on the left wing…

PENALTY, FRANCE, RAMOS! 6-5; France take the lead!

Scrum for New Zealand on the All Black 10 metre… they're struggling to get this to work… and the ref blow for a penalty and France are going for poles… and the lead from almost in front of the poles 10 metres back from the New Zealand 22…

BRILLIANT! France drive forward down the left, the chip goes over deep into the New Zealand 22, near the tryline and over. New Zealand have the clearance kick, but France drive hard back at New Zealand…

France push down the right, New Zealand win the ball, France claim it back… but New Zealand reclaim the ball and drive upfield.

SUBSTITUTION, FRANCE. Heartbreak for Marchand as he is injured, Mauvakaat coming in to replace him.

New Zealand penalised for contact in the with a French defender rising to catch the clearance kick.

France are penalised and New Zealand have a penalty to clear the danger.

New Zealand win a lineout, but France steal the ball and run the line to the New Zealand 10 metre line, where play breaks down and the ref awards a scrum to New Zealand.

France with the scrum just inside the New Zealand half… the run the ball down the right but New Zealand steal the ball and it's booted upfield…

PENALTY, FRANCE, RAMOS! 3-5; Ramos slots a penalty from about 15 metres in from the left wing to pull his side within two points of the All Blacks.

Mo'unga misses the conversion.

TRY, NEW ZEALAND, TELEA! 0-5; Sensational start from the All Blacks. The Haka must have worked its magic!

… the ref blows for a penalty and New Zealand run from 10 metres out… ball is few out the ruck by Barrett and he kicks right across the field to the far touchline, Telea is under the ball, grabs it under pressure and falls to ground…

New Zealand win the first lineout and they burst through the French line, into their 22, the French are all over the place…

KICK-OFF! The World Cup is under way!

Opening ceremony done… anthems done… all that's left is the haka and then 80 minutes of fierce Rugby World Cup action!

The referee for this momentous occasion is South Africa’s Jaco Peyper, and he will be assisted Karl Dickson and Christophe Ridley from England, while our TMO is Tom Foley, also from England.

All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’Unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Dalton Papalai’i, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot. Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tupou Vaai’i, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 David Havili, 23 Leicester Fainga’anuku.

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Gabin Villiere, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont (captain), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Reda Wardi. Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifienua, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Maxime Lucu, 22 Arthur Vincent, 23 Melvyn Jaminet.

New Zealand won 38-18 back in November 2017 in France and enjoyed a 52-11 rout the following June in New Zealand. They went on to win that three-match series in 2018 to the tune of 3-0, with 26-13 and 49-14 wins in the second and third Tests. Skip forward three years, and France pulled off a 40-25 win at home in their last meeting.

In head-to-head meetings, New Zealand lead France 4-1 over their last five clashes.

Both teams have won four of their last five games, with France winning the last three in a row, while New Zealand were hammered 35-7 by South Africa in their last game, having won their previous four games.

Savea’s second hat-trick in the 2015 competition came in New Zealand’s record 62-13 hammering of France in the quarter-final. This set the record for the biggest winning margin in a Rugby World Cup knockout stage match, beating the All Blacks’ own record of a 43-point winning margin against Wales in 1987. The All Blacks scored nine tries in the match, also a record for the most scored by one team in the knockout stages. His hat-trick took Savea level with Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana for the most tries in a World Cup tournament.

In total, there have been 14 hat-tricks for New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup (the most in RWC history), while France have scored eight, putting them in third place behind Australia (nine hat-tricks).

Five players have scored two hat-tricks in the Rugby World Cup, including two players from New Zealand and one from France. Jeff Wilson (1995, 1999) and Julian Savea (2015) completed this feat for the All Blacks, while Vincent Clerc (2007, 2011) achieved it for Les Tricolores.

France’s only other World Cup win over New Zealand was in the 2007 quarter-final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. France were once again trailing - this time by 13-3 at half-time - but powered their way through to a 20-18 win.

Arguably the greatest battle between the two sides came in the 1999 semi-final at Twickenham, when Jonah Lomu powered over twice to give New Zealand a 24-10 lead after 46 minutes. France fired back in an unforgettable display of attacking rugby, scoring 33 points in 28 magical minutes, including four tries to wow the 70,000-strong crowd.

Between those two finals, New Zealand had lost 15-12 to South Africa in 1995, and France lost 35-12 to Australia in 1999. New Zealand also won the 2015 final, beating Australia 34-17.

The two sides have met twice in the final, first in the inaugural final back in 1987 (New Zealand won 29-9 at Eden Park), and then in the 8-7 slugfest that was again held at Eden Park (2011).

France and New Zealand have met seven times before in World Cup competition, with New Zealand winning five times and France twice.

Dashing playmakers France might not have won the trophy to date, but they hold the record for the most losses in World Cup finals with England - both have made the final and lost three times, although England also has one win to their credit (2003). France have certainly lifted the spirit and excitement of the World Cup on numerous occasions with their dashing and daring play.

The mighty New Zealand share the record for the most World Cup wins with South Africa, both nations having lifted the Webb Ellis trophy on three occasions.

We’re going to be bringing you the action live tonight from 21:15 SAST, direct from the Stade de France, in beautiful Saint-Denis, with an anticipated crowd of 82,000 rugby fans ready to cheer their hearts out… along with a global audience of tens of millions.

It’s finally here! Rugby World Cup 2023 is about to break, and we’re kicking off with a momentous clash between two giants of World Cup rugby - New Zealand and France.

Get ready for it…