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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

Harry Latham-Coyle
Sunday 27 August 2023 13:54 EDT
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(Getty Images)

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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:

Anthems

A pleasant enough rendition of “Advance Australia Fair”, though it does rather pale in comparison to the full-throated roar of 80,000 or so, “La Marseillaise“ delivered typically emphatically.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:44

France vs Australia: Match officials

Referee: Luke Pearce (ENG)

ARs: Christophe Ridley (ENG) & Craig Evans (WAL)

TMO: Tom Foley (ENG)

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:41

France vs Australia

Out the players come to cries of “Allez Les Bleus”, the two sides pushing out through smoke cast in red, white and blue.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:40

France vs Australia

But kick off is very much near in Paris, with barely an empty seat in sight inside the Stade de France.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:38

France vs Australia

Just a bit of news from elsewhere before kick off - Cian Healy has been left out of Ireland’s 33-man World Cup squad after suffering that injury against Samoa yesterday. We’ll have full details on Andy Farrell’s selection a little later.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:37

France vs Australia

France’s enviable depth at ten means the loss of Romain Ntamack is less catastrophic than it would be for other nations, but Matthieu Jalibert is a different player to his former age-group colleague, perhaps with slightly more ability and aggression with ball in hand but occasionally accused of lacking in big game control. That is probably unfair - Jalibert’s game has really rounded out over the last couple of years - but it’ll be fascinating to see how he beds in to this first choice French side. The playmaking axis of Toulouse teammates Antoine Dupont, Ntamack and Thomas Ramos is so well honed; in theory, we should see little drop-off with such a high-class deputy ready to step in but the Bordeaux-Begles pivot will want to impress today.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:35

France vs Australia

It’s fair to say that Suliasi Vunivalu wouldn’t have made the World Cup squads of most Wallabies watches, the NRL convert not having quite adjusted in the way that Rugby Australia would have hoped after crossing codes. But Eddie Jones seems to like the wing, keeping him in his 33 and giving him a starting shirt today in Marika Koroibete’s absence.

Vunivalu has had problems positionally, which France are sure to try and attack - the hosts have an excellent tactical kicking game, and this is a relatively untested Australian back three combination.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:24

France vs Australia

And here’s the full tournament itinerary, which might be worth sticking in your bookmarks for the next couple of months:

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

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:15

A World Cup dress rehearsal

Both of these two sides are back here on the opening weekend of the World Cup, with Australia’s opening pool game against Georgia on Saturday 9 September following the Friday night France-New Zealand curtain-raiser at the Stade de France. For the Wallabies, a chance to acquaint themselves with the Paris arena is rather handy, particularly with today’s referee Luke Pearce also in charge in 13 days.

“It is the perfect opportunity for us to test ourselves against another quality opposition in France," Tate McDermott said yesterday.

"It could not have worked out any better, we have the same referee, the same field, everything from logistics to what the stadium will sound like is going to be important (to experience ahead of the Georgia game).

“There will be times in the game when we will be under the pump against a very strong French pack, so it is about dealing with the momentum shift. That will be crucial come World Cup time. The physicality aspect is going to be massive."

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:09

France vs Australia

Cyril Baille’s calf injury is a real concern for France, the loosehead having been such a key cog in their development over the last few years. The prop wasn’t, perhaps, at his best for Toulouse last season but I thought he had a very solid Six Nations, and his ability as an offloader and distributor is so valuable.

Baille should be back fit at some point during the World Cup but, for now, it’ll be Jean-Baptiste Gros on the left side of the French front row. The 24-year-old was part of the great French age-group side that went back-to-back as U20 world champions in 2018 and 2019, combining with Demba Bamba to produce a series of scrum demolition jobs on their way to that first triumph before quickly moving up into the senior set-up.

Gros’s progress since hasn’t been entirely smooth, with a couple of injuries stalling him somewhat, but the Toulon prop has been impressive so far this summer. How he handles Taniela Tupou at scrum time will be worth watching - there’s plenty of mass coming through the tighthead side for the Wallabies with Will Skelton behind the prop, and I think they’ll try to put Gros, who can be streaky at scrum time, under strain.

Harry Latham-Coyle27 August 2023 16:05

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