The French may feel hard done by but they are getting little sympathy from All Blacks coach Steve Hansen heading into the third and final test in Dunedin on Saturday.
The second test was a lopsided affair after French fullback Benjamin Fall was wrongly sent off and while his red card was subsequently rescinded, the result gave the All Blacks an unassailable two nil series lead meaning they retained the Dave Gallaher trophy.
While there's been plenty of public sympathy for the tourists plight there was little from Hansen at a media session this afternoon.
Asked if he'd be prepared to put the trophy on the line in on Saturday in a one off match, Hansen wasn't interested.
"You make the comment that the French feel hard done by but you can talk about any series and say that, that's just the way rugby is.
"You could go back 12 months (against the British and Irish Lions) and I could squeal about that too - but it's pointless isn't it," he said.
Sam Whitelock and the Dave Gallaher trophy. Photo: Photosport
"The rules were made before the start of the series and we've put (the trophy) in the cabinet. No point giving someone else a break is there? We've got it so we'll keep it?"
The trophy was first competed for between the two nations in 2000.
It's named after Dave Gallaher, who captained the All Blacks from 1905-06. He was killed in Belgium during World War I.
The last time France held the trophy was in 2009.
France won that series 37-36 on aggregate score over two matches, having won the first test 27-22 and lost the second 10-14.
The New Zealand team had assumed the series would be drawn if each team won one test, and were upset to discover that aggregate was taken into account.
-RNZ
