All Blacks coach Ian Foster has conceded his team needs to be "better" and "smarter" with their discipline after it hurt them heavily for a second-straight loss but said the result itself hasn't made a significant dent in their campaign.
Foster's men went down 27-13 to France to register their first-ever loss in pool play at a Rugby World Cup this morning in Paris - the latest unwanted milestone in the coach's All Blacks resume - after an ever-growing penalty count again backed them into a corner they couldn't get out of.
The penalty count finished at 12 against the All Blacks while France only conceded four and while the All Blacks were initially right in the contest and only trailing 9-8 at halftime, the whistle count and Will Jordan's yellow card eventually took their toll.
It comes after the All Blacks suffered their heaviest-ever defeat last month against the Springboks at Twickenham in which their ill-discipline, and card trouble, also had a serious impact on the scoreboard.
Foster conceded after today's match something has to change.
"We've got to get better," Foster said.
"It was a little bit frustrating some of the pictures that we painted at scrum time for the ref, when perhaps they were painting a slightly different picture and getting away with it.
"We've got to be smarter at that... [There were] some good lessons. But we're not down in the shed, we're frustrated that we lost the game."
The All Blacks' opening match was derailed hours before kickoff with news captain Sam Cane had been pulled from the match due to back spasms, leading fellow loose forward Ardie Savea to take the helm.
Foster said Cane's withdrawal stemmed from an incident at the captain's run the day before.
"He was just doing a bit of lifting of a jumper at kickoff and as he brought them down, he felt his back get strained so he was pretty stiff last night," he said.
"We had a look at him this morning, late morning, and made the decision to pull him."
Foster said Cane was moving "a lot better" since but they weren't willing to take any risks in the opening game of a World Cup.
Now attention turns to the rest of their pool games where an upset loss against Namibia, Italy and Uruguay can't be in the equation.
Despite that new feeling for the All Blacks in pool play, Foster said they weren't panicking about their situation.
"I don't think we have to rebuild," said Foster. "Stats are stats, I understand all that.
"But, in the past, we've won all our pool games and not necessarily won a tournament - the goal is to win the tournament."
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