France vs Australia LIVE: Result and reaction after Wallabies thrashed in Paris
After England’s shock defeat to Fiji it’s the final match for France and Australia ahead of the Rugby World Cup
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France concluded their preparations for their home Rugby World Cup in fine fashion with a convincing 41-17 win over Australia.
At a buoyant Stade de France, the hosts showed off their attacking range to accelerate away in the second half.
The Wallabies impressed in the first half with their own varied play with ball in hand, but failed to make a series of opportunities inside the French 22 count and fell to a fifth successive defeat since Eddie Jones was installed as head coach.
And with Antoine Dupont, Matthieu Jalibert and Thomas Ramos expertly pulling the strings, France’s backs repeatedly cut a fatiguing visiting side to ribbons to sign off in style ahead of the tournament.
Fabien Galthie’s side open the World Cup with a mouthwatering clash with New Zealand in Paris on Friday 8 September.
Australia begin their tournament back at the Stade de France a day later, with the Wallabies taking on Georgia.
Follow live updates from France vs Australia below:
FT: France 41-17 Australia
So that’s that, then - the month of warm-ups is over and the next on-pitch action will be the World Cup proper.
And what an opener it is, too: France against New Zealand, with the Stade de France sure to be jumping under the Friday night lights.
Rugby World Cup 2023 schedule, fixtures, dates and kick-off times
Every game of the Rugby World Cup as hosts France kick-off the tournament against favourites New Zealand in Paris
And Wallabies skipper Will Skelton speaks to Amazon after Australia’s defeat
“Very disappointed. In the first half, we went after them, but they are a world classs team, and we gave them opportunities and didn’t execute.
“We’ve got some big ball carriers, we’ve got a powerful pack. We showed it in patches. We’ve got to take the lessons, we’ve got to improve. It wasn’t good enough tonight but we’ve got two weeks to get ready for Georgia. I’m proud to lead this team - they are a hungry, ambitious, tough group.”
Paul Willemse reacts to France’s win
“Really happy with the result tonight. I think it was a great performance from us. There are still a few things to improve, but overall we are really pleased.
“It’s done now, all of the preparations are done. The next game is the opener - we are going to take a few days off and then prepare for that. The atmosphere today was amazing and I think it is going to be 10x that.”
FT: France 41-17 Australia
That is, though, five defeats from five for the Wallabies under their head coach. Australia begin their World Cup at the Stade de France against Georgia in 13 days - there were definitely steps forward for Eddie Jones’s side today in terms of attacking variety, but that lack of recent winning experience could well be a problem in what is shaping as a very competitive pool.
Pleasingly, though, I don’t think there were any injuries for either side, or anything that the citing commissioner is likely to pick out.
FT: France 41-17 Australia
A bit of a thrashing, in the end, with France showing off their attacking range in a free-flowing second half to accelerate away from Australia. The Wallabies were probably better than the final margin suggests, but a lack of red zone efficiency meant they never had a hope against a higher quality side.
PENALTY! FRANCE 41-17 Australia, 80 minutes
The clock ticks past 80 minutes as France are awarded a penalty inside their own half, with Australia marched ten metres further back for a bit of chat. That takes it within Melvyn Jaminet’s range...
And the replacement full back thunders the penalty over from bang on halfway, with plenty of leg to spare.
TRY! France 38-17 AUSTRALIA (Suliasi Vunivalu try, 78 minutes)
A first test try for Suliasi Vunivalu!
Vunivalu is onside as Issak Fines-Leleiwasa floats up a box kick, and his nudge on Jaminet is cleared quickly, too. Subsequent replays suggest it was shoulder-to-back rather than shoulder-to-shoulder, but referee Luke Pearce and TMO Tom Foley were perfectly happy with Vunivalu’s actions. The try is good.
Try? France 38-12 Australia, 77 minutes
A high kick ends up in Suliasi Vunivalu’s hands - was the wing onside? And was his nudge on Melvyn Jaminet legal?
TRY! FRANCE 38-12 Australia (Damian Penaud try, 75 minutes)
Simply sublime!
Australia turn over possession on halfway and there is acres and acres of space for their fatiguing forwards to try to cover on the French right. Damian Penaud holds his width, waiting to take Gael Fickou’s pass and burning past the Wallabies wading through treacle.
Penaud assesses his options as he approaches the last defender, slowing slightly to ensure his chip is precise. Penaud collects cleanly, barely breaking stride, to score his second.
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