France survive Australia scare in 12-try thriller
MATCH REPORT: France wrapped up their Nations Series campaign on a high, defeating Australia 48-33 at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Les Bleus outscored the Wallabies seven tries to five in a high-tempo, end-to-end encounter.
*To recap all the action CLICK HERE!!
The defeat means Australia return home without a single victory – their first winless European tour since 1958 – and suffer a record 10th loss of the year.
The visitors burst out of the blocks, starting like a house on fire as they strung together slick offloads and carved through the French defence with ease. Their early dominance paid off when Matt Feassler crashed over for the opening try inside just three minutes.
France were quick to respond and looked threatening with ball in hand, but their early surge was halted by some superb breakdown work from Australia deep inside their own 22.
Les Bleus eventually broke through when Nicolas Dapoortere finished off a lethal line-break from World Rugby Player of the Year nominee Louis Bielle-Biarre. Thomas Ramos converted to hand France a 7–5 lead.
Charles Ollivon was forced from the field for an HIA in the 15th minute, and the Wallabies had a chance to reclaim the lead shortly after, but Tane Edmed pushed his second kick wide.
Australia, however, didn’t have to wait long for their next opportunity. Angus Bell powered through several defenders and crashed over – a fitting way to mark his 50th Test appearance. Edmed added the extras to put the Wallabies back in front, 12-7.
But the advantage didn’t last. Ramos gathered a well-timed pass from Romain Ntamack and crossed to level the scores.
France then hit the front again thanks to a moment of brilliance from Bielle-Biarre, who regathered his own chip-and-chase and dived over. Ramos’ conversion stretched the lead to 19-12.
With France reduced to 14 men, Australia set up a rolling maul and Faessler muscled his way over for his second five-pointer. Edmed converted his second of the evening to lock things up at 19-all.
There was barely anything between the sides at halftime, with both teams crossing for three tries and landing two conversions each.
In the second stanza, a Ramos penalty handed them a 22-19 lead before Dapoortere bagged his brace, thanks to another clinical Bielle-Biarrey assist.
It was a truly box-office display, as Australia hit back when Max Jorgensen outpaced the French backline to score his team’s fourth try. Edmed narrowed the deficit to just one point with a successful conversion.
However, the Australians were soon reduced to 14 men and quickly found themselves in trouble.
France capitalised with two more tries, scored by Marchand and Bielle-Biarre, the latter taking his international try tally to 20 since his debut in 2023. Ramos added the conversion to make it 41-26, before late tries from Australia hooker Josh Nasser and France hooker Maxime Lamothe wrapped up the scoring.
Moment of the Match: Billy Pollard’s try in the third minute. The early score stunned the crowd and set the tone for a thrilling contest.
Player of the Match: France’s Louis Bielle-Biarre. The wing produced an incredible performance, creating a couple of tries for his team and crossing the line twice himself.
The scorers:
For France:
Tries: Dapoortere 2, Ramos, Bielle-Biarre 2, Marchand, Lamothe
Cons: Ramos 5
Pen: Ramos
For Australia:
Tries: Feasler 2, Bell, Jorgenson, Nasser
Cons: Edmed 4
Yellow cards: Maxime Lucu (France, 35 – multiple infringements), Tom Hooper (Australia, 64 – collapsing the maul)
Teams:
France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 Gregory Alldritt (captain), 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Regis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros.
Replacements: 16 Maxime Lamothe, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Thomas Laclayat, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Baptiste Jauneau, 23 Kalvin Gourgues.
Australia: 15 Max Jorgensen, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Tane Edmed, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (captain), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Nick Frost, 4 Jeremy Williams, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Feassler, 1 Angus Bell.
Replacements: 16 Josh Nasser, 17 Aiden Ross, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Valentini, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Kalani Thomas, 22 Hamish Stewart, 23 Filipo Daugunu.
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
