BORDERER Finlay Christie made his Rugby World Cup debut in the opening game of the tournament against France.

The 27-year-old Auckland Blues scrum-half, who was born at the Borders General Hospital and brought up in Peebles, started the match on the bench at the Stade de France in Paris.

He entered the fray midway through the second half with New Zealand trailing 9-13, replacing Aaron Smith, but was unable to help his side overcome the deficit and the All Blacks eventually lost 27-13.

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It was the first ever pool match defeat in World Cup history for New Zealand.

Christie who still has family in the Scottish Borders did not feature in the All Blacks’ second pool match against Namibia last Friday.

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But his rival for the back-up half-back place, Cam Roigard, produced a man-of-the-match display scoring two tries in the 71-3 victory.

Now it is a nervous wait for Christie to see whether he is selected for the next game on Friday (September 30) against Italy.

They complete their Pool matches against Uruguay on Wednesday, October 5.

It has been a successful year for Christie whose family emigrated to Pukekohe in South Auckland when he was seven.

He was selected for the New Zealand squad after helping the All Blacks beat South Africa to win the Freedom Cup in July.