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Despite a spirited fight, the Wallabies conceded their fourth defeat of their northern tour, going down to France 48–33 at the Stade de France. They stunned the home crowd into silence by scoring within two minutes and looked sharp in attack throughout the first half, but for every try they scored, France were able to respond.
Depoortere (8', 51'), Ramos (24'), Bielle-Biarrey (30', 71'), Marchand (63'), Lamothe (78')
Tries
Faessler (2', 35'), Bell (20'), Jorgensen (54'), Nasser (75')
Ramos (9', 31', 64', 72', 79')
Conversions
Edmed (21', 36', 55', 75')
Ramos (46')
Penalties
Despite a spirited fight, the Wallabies conceded their fourth defeat of their northern tour, going down to France 48–33 at the Stade de France. They stunned the home crowd into silence by scoring within two minutes and looked sharp in attack throughout the first half, but for every try they scored, France were able to respond.
It was France who had the final say, punishing the Wallabies’ ill-discipline in the second half. As snow fell inside the stadium, France turned up the heat with scintillating tries from wingers Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Nicolas Depoortere, streaking away on the scoreboard.
After perhaps their best performance of the tour, the Wallabies will be lamenting their last-quarter fade. So what went wrong?
It is not often a single player makes such a difference, but Len Ikitau’s return to the Wallabies fold is crucial. How he was not even nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year is confounding. With Ikitau making a game-high 14 carries, the Wallabies’ structure looked far more direct. Despite the freezing conditions, they attacked with intent and speed.
Playing to the line, they found gaps in the French defence with clever interchange passing. Angus Bell, in his 50th Test, burst through the line to score a try every prop dreams about. His athleticism sets him apart as one of the best attacking props in the world. Max Jorgensen also scored a remarkable solo try in the 54th minute, putting in a clever grubber, outrunning the French defence and diving on the ball to bring the Wallabies back within touching distance.
The lineout, which had been a hallmark of Wallabies precision and execution earlier in the year, became a thorn in their side again in Paris. Three wayward throws at pivotal moments proved costly as the Wallabies tried to gain ascendancy. They missed three of their own lineouts, finishing with 13 wins from 16.
The connection between thrower and caller has been off ever since the departure of Geoff Parling before the tour. It is a core skill set that needs to be nailed by the hooker, but likewise Nick Frost, as the primary caller, needed to stabilise the jumping and regain confidence.
Decision-making under pressure has not been the Wallabies’ greatest strength this November. Several times they had the opportunity to take three points and keep themselves within range, but instead chose to kick for touch and chase five points despite a wavering lineout.
It paid off for Faessler’s second try, but they missed a golden chance in the 20th minute when, close to the French line, they fluffed their lineout. It was compounded minutes later by another misfire that led to a Ramos try.
The Wallabies have not settled on a first-choice kicker, but Ben Edmed was more than capable of taking a few more penalty shots that were on offer. Points build pressure. If you do not execute at the line, you let the pressure evaporate and hand momentum straight back to the opposition.
