Departing France head coach Philippe Saint-Andre has conceded that New Zealand were simply too good for his side to overcome in their quarter-final tie.
Les Blues made a promising enough start to the match in Cardiff, but they were punished all too often by a rampant All Blacks side who crossed over nine times in all.
It was a memorable Rugby World Cup display from the Kiwis in a repeat of 2011's final, and Saint-Andre was full of praise for the reigning champions following his final game in charge of the national side.
"Congratulations to the All Blacks for an outstanding match," he told reporters. "We knew that we would have to make them doubt, to stick to them on the scoreboard.
"But they successfully launched a counter-attack, we couldn't stick to their score, and then it gets really hard. They are the Brazilians of rugby. They are fast, they won 80% of one-on-ones.
"I really hoped that these three months would make us reach the next level. They players worked so hard. We've constantly been ranked between No 5 and 8 since November 2012. So today, we are where we belong."
France will not appear in a Rugby World Cup semi-final for the first time since 1991.
Daniel Lewis
