Player ratings: Flattered
The Wallabies showed good fighting spirit to end within striking distance of France, but they were flattered by the scoreline.
The visitors seemed to be chasing the game from the start and did extremely well to hang in before making a late surge for an unlikely win.
However, they will be concerned about the lack of accuracy from some key players which saw France dictate terms in Paris.
It was a first Test defeat for coach Michael Cheika, and he will surely be demanding an improved performance when they take on Ireland next week.
We rate the Australian players:
15 Israel Folau
Seemed to be off his game as he was shut down quickly and even looked dodgy under the high ball, but made some telling late contributions as the French defence tired.
6/10
14 Adam Ashley-Cooper
Missed important tackles on Huget and Thomas, but showed his finishing ability by brushing off a few tackles of his own to score his try.
6/10
13 Tevita Kuridrani
Was marked closely but still tough to bring down and made his mark in midfield despite being denied any space.
7/10
12 Christian Leali'ifano
Distributed well and made his tackles but was not really able to impose himself on the opposition at all.
6/10
11 Joe Tomane
Competed well in the air and looked for work but did not get many chances to cut loose.
6/10
10 Bernard Foley
An erratic outing from the flyhalf as his handling let him down a few times and he got charged down, his goal-kicking was spot-on as usual though.
5/10
9 Nick Phipps
Made a nuisance of himself, got under some French noses and provided quick and accurate service behind a beaten pack.
7/10
8 Ben McCalman
Did quite well behind a retreating pack and got over the gainline a few times but was playing off the back foot for most of the game.
6/10
7 Michael Hooper
Ran and tackled his heart out, but was blown off the breakdown by the physical French forwards and did not have his usual impact there.
6/10
6 Sean McMahon
A hard-working performance from the rookie who was perhaps lucky to stay on the field after a dangerous tackle after the whistle.
6/10
5 Rob Simmons
Stood out amongst the forwards as he made some key contributions in the line-outs and did well to score his try.
7/10
4 James Horwill
Battled to assert himself as his hands let him down and he was driven back in contact too often.
5/10
3 Sekope Kepu
Got shoved around in the scrums in his 50th Test but carried the ball well and tackled hard.
5/10
2 Saia Fainga'a
Carried the ball up well and contested at the breakdown as well as being reliable in the line-outs.
6/10
1 James Slipper
Another tough outing in the scrums, he got around the park well but battled to stand his ground in the tight phases.
5/10
Replacements:
16 James Hanson (On for Fainga'a, 69 mins)
Tackled hard in his time on the pitch but not many opportunities to take on defenders.
6/10
17 Benn Robinson (On for Slipper, 61 mins)
Battled at scrum-time but made some telling tackles.
6/10
18 Ben Alexander (On for Kepu, 65 mins)
Added some important energy as the Wallabies fought back in the late stages.
6/10
19 Will Skelton (On for Horwill, 49 mins)
Got stuck in and threw his big frame around, but a little reckless and got warned by the referee.
6/10
20 Matt Hodgson (On for McMahon, 69 mins)
Made some important tackles, but did not have enough time to make a real impact.
6/10
21 Will Genia (On for Phipps, 69 mins)
His experience counted as he directed things in the Wallabies' late surge.
7/10
22 Quade Cooper (On for Tomane, 60 mins)
Did not get many chances to take the French defence on, but threw some good passes and created for those outside him.
7/10
23 Rob Horne (On for Leali'ifano, 44 mins)
Looked to get involved, but got knocked back in the tackle a few times and battled to hold on to the ball.
6/10
By Michael de Vries
