Australia bring France down to earth in thriller victory
PARIS: Australia gave France a reality check on Saturday by claiming a third win in their November tour with a thrilling 25-23 victory in Paris.
Guy Noves’s France had been aiming to build on a moraleboosting 52- 8 thrashing of Samoa in Toulouse a week ago, and a promising 27- 0 win over Argentina in June.
But the Wallabies provided a step up in class for Toulouse legend Noves, now in his first full season as France coach.
The Australians rallied from 8- 0 down at the Stade de France to lead 13-11 at half-time, and they then held off a late French charge with Camille Lopez missing a drop-goal in the last play of the match.
“It’s very frustrating because we could have won at the end,” said Noves.
“We’re on an extremely rewarding and steep learning curve. I hope that the next time we won’t wait for half-time, that we can also show that by holding the ball and with speed we can also put our rivals in difficulty.”
Both sides scored three tries -the Wallabies’ first a penalty try followed by one from Bernard Foley, a late call-up for the injured Quade Cooper and a spectacular effort from Tevita Kuridrani.
Foley, Australia’s goal-kicker, scored 15 points in all. France’s tries came from wing Virimi Vakatawa, fly-half Jean-Marc Doussain and centre Wesley Fofana.
“The players were very downcast in the changing room,” said France captain Guilhem Guirado.
“We really wanted to match up against a top three team. There will be a lot of soul- searching as we prepare for a very important week ahead for us.” — AFP