Incidents don't always affect outcomes

EXCLUSIVE: An act of foul play or a refereeing error can change the outcome of the game but it seems as though recent incidents would not have changed the end result.

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The match between New Zealand and France, which the home side claimed 52-11, will be best known for two incidents - Paul Gabrillagues' yellow card in the 50th minute when the score was deadlocked at 11-11 and referee Luke Pearce failing to penalise All Blacks Sam Cane and Ofa Tu'ungafasi for colliding with Remy Grosso's head in the 59th minute.

Close matches are usually separated by a moment of brilliance or insanity, which many will remember as the turning point. However, sometimes, such a turning point can have no impact on the eventual result - and this match was one such match.

France being beaten by New Zealand, based on form and the makeup of the teams, was the popular prediction and despite France applying enormous pressure on the home side, it could not save them from the eventual outcome, even if they had their full complement of players on the field for the full 80 minutes.