BEATEN BLACK & BLEU

Peerless Penaud cuts down Kiwis

- ALEX SPINK

DAMIAN PENAUD went from villain to hero to give France a winning start to the World Cup and send the host nation into raptures.

The son of former Saracens star Alain was at fault for both New Zealand tries and spilt a chance of his own over the Kiwi line.

But with the All Blacks eyeing a shock victory, he linked with Matthieu Jalibert to dramatically steal the prize back.

The home relief was tangible. For long periods it had appeared Les Bleus were being crushed by the sheer weight of expectation. The crowd had been whipped into a fervour by an opening ceremony which felt like Danny Boyle's London 2012 epic - with a Gallic twist.