Rugby trophy loss takes shine off All Blacks victory

The All Blacks appear to be unsure whether to savour their second Test rugby victory over France or bemoan their narrow failure to hold onto the Dave Gallaher Trophy contested by the two sides.

NZealand's captain Mils Muliaina salute the crowd at the end of their rugby union Test match against France, on June 20, at Westpack Stadium in Wellington. A determined All Blacks side battled their way to a 14-10 win over France in a brusing second rugby Test but the victory wasn't enough to stop France claiming the Dave Gallaher trophy for the first time.

New Zealand's 14-10 win on a stormy Saturday night here was enough to tie the series but not enough to retain the trophy, which is decided on points for and against.

After being outplayed in the first Test, which they lost 27-22 in Dunedin last week, the All Blacks needed a winning margin of at least six points on Saturday but came up two short.

Coach Graham Henry tried to put a brave face on the outcome, saying immediately after the match that it was more important his side had rebounded with a win and he had deliberately not told them how the series was to be decided.

"They didn't need that extra information to put extra pressure on a side that is relatively young," he argued.

But losing the trophy -- which the All Blacks had held since it was first put at stake in 2000 -- took some of the gloss off the victory for the players.

Replacement halfback Piri Weepu believes they should have been told the previous system of having the trophy at stake in a selected Test was no longer valid.

He said he may well have directed play differently in the closing minutes had he known a four-point winning margin was not enough.

"I probably would have set something up, either to score or have a drop kick," he said.

"Those sort of things you've got to know or be told. For us coming into the changing rooms and finding out that we lost a trophy because we didn't score six points was kind of stupid to some of us.

"After a hard battle out there, getting told that kind of puts a dampener on it."

But in the post-match review on Sunday, assistant coach Steve Hansen maintained the All Blacks selectors had made the right call not to put extra pressure on the side.

"We thought we made the right decision at the time," he said.

"Hindsight's a beautiful thing and if we all had it, we'd probably be living different lives."

New Zealand were never behind in the Test and led 8-0 at halftime after a try by Ma'a Nonu and a penalty to Stephen Donald.

Donald and Luke McAlister added further penalties for the All Blacks after the break while Cedric Heymans scored for France with a conversion from Julien Dupuy and a penalty by Dmitri Yachvili.

Although France failed to back up from their first Test success, coach Marc Lievremont was in no doubt where the honours lay.

"The feeling is a feeling of pride," he said.

"The All Blacks said (after the first Test) they had lost the battle but they were going to win the war. I think having won the trophy, we won the war."

The trophy holds special significance for New Zealanders as its honours their first Test rugby captain.

Dave Gallaher captained the touring New Zealand "Originals" to Europe in 1905 and was later killed in the Battle of Passchendaele during World War 1.