Ross reflects on his debut

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If Isaac Ross needed an early reminder about what this test rugby lark was all about, he certainly got it at the hands of a French side who returned to some of their, er, traditional strengths.

"It was about four or five rungs higher than Super 14," reflected the test debutant (one of three on the night, alongside bench men Tanerau Latimer and Bryn Evans) after a brutal examination at the hands of the French at Carisbrook.

"Right from the very first lineout you were getting elbows and punches in the head and things like that... It was 'welcome to test footy', eh. You've just got to adapt, move on and get on with the job."

That's an encouraging attitude from the least experienced member of a tight five well bested on the night as the French mixed courageous defence and predatory attack to secure their fourth victory on New Zealand soil.

"That's northern hemisphere rugby at its finest," added Ross, throwing out an assertion he would repeat as he reflected on a mixed night of emotions at the Brook. Ross went one better than his father Jock (watching from the stands) who played for the All Blacks, but never made it into the test lineup.

But a special evening ended on a deflating note.

"We got taught a little bit of a lesson today. We came in at halftime fizzing, but you can't leave it till halftime, especially with a team like France because when they get momentum going they're a real hard team to stop.

Ross, with his single cap, may be a long way from an expert witness, but he cut to the chase as well as anyone in the All Blacks camp after their Carisbrook crumble.

Beaten 27-22 by a superior French side, this hotch-potch All Blacks outfit lost the all-important physical contest up front and had the pace and tempo of the match dictated to them by the touring team.

Everyone was pretty much unanimous on that, despite a flattering dominance in many of the statistical categories.

It was interesting to hear Ross, the 24-year-old son of a gun, sum it all up so succinctly and accurately. Out of the mouths of babes, and all that.

"We practised to combat that but they were a little bit better than we expected," he said. "We've just got to bring something better to the table than what we did tonight. So it's back to the drawing board on Monday."

Ross admitted the step up to test rugby was a major adjustment on many levels.

"We were used to playing the fast game of the Super 14, but the rules have changed. You're allowed hands on the ball on the deck, and it just slows the game right down.

"The French adapted to the rules a lot better than us. We've just got to change how we approach the game and get back into it on Monday."

The 2.01m Cantab said it was "gutting" to have his special night end the way it did.

"It's not something you want to put on your CV - a loss for your first test. We've just got to park that, but hold this feeling because you don't want it again."

And just maybe fight some fire with fire when they go at it again next weekend in the capital.

"Definitely," said the talented second-rower, a smile at last breaking out... "The French pride themselves on their pack, they get momentum, and they got good line speed on us, especially on defence. The new rule changes meant they could put hands in the ruck and slow our ball down.

"They slowed us right down to their pace.

"We basically played into their hands, so we've got to go back to the drawing board and bring something better than we did today."

- © Fairfax NZ News