Preview: France v Australia
Australia coach Michael Cheika is not worried about conceding tries against France in their second November Test at the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.
In two matches, since he took charge following the abrupt sacking of Ewen McKenzie, Cheika's Wallabies have conceded nine tries.
However, they won both games, defeating the Barbarians 40-36 at Twickenham before edging out Wales 33-28 in Cardiff.
Former Leinster and Stade Francais coach Cheika, still the head coach of Super Rugby champions Waratahs, says it will take time for his players to master his new defensive strategy so he is not worried about conceding tries.
"It's absolutely normal for a team that's had a change in system and also maybe it's been difficult to get united as much because there has been so much going on," said Cheika.
"Defence is a real symbol of how close we are as a team, [whether we're] prepared to tackle for each other.
"I know we've made mistakes and we've let in a few tries, and I know this is going to sound stupid but I've liked the way we've done it because we've been trying to go to the new system, which I'm not afraid to say is a more aggressive, more front-foot system.
"We're going to make mistakes early, there's no doubt about that. You can't just say I'm going to change the defensive system and not have problems with it because it's the 10 or 12 guys communicating with each other all the time and making live decisions.
"So I'm prepared to let a few in, if it means getting our system better so that as we get to know each other and get to know the system it becomes really rock solid."
Cheika has only been in the job three weeks and has his hands full trying to impose his will on the side and doesn't even have time to think about what his team's opponents will do.
"We've been really concentrating just on us at the moment. We've watched some tapes of the opposition but for us right now, only being two or three weeks into our own chapter here, the focus we have to put in is just on our game and hope that we have our game organised well enough and it's powerful enough and skillful enough to give the opposition a lot to deal with so we don't have to worry too much about their game.
"And I'm saying that with the utmost respect but I think we have to concentrate on ourselves, pick out the main threats of France, watch that on video and make sure we're prepared," he added.
One such threat in an unchanged France side is Racing-Metro winger Teddy Thomas, who became only the second Frenchman in history to score a hat trick of tries on his debut last week against Fiji.
But Cheika, who played and coached in France, admits he doesn't know much about the 21-year-old.
"He came to prominence after I left France [in 2012], so I haven't seen a lot of him but I know that one of the most valuable assets in rugby is pace, and it's a very dangerous weapon.
"He has pace and we have to make sure he doesn't have a chance to use it," he stated.
France were whitewashed on their three-match tour to Australia in June, twice losing heavily and conceding almost 100 points over the three matches.
But No.8 Damian Chouly says France are desperate to make up for that.
"We need to be coherent. We've spoken about it a lot. We lost three matches over there in June and we came away frustrated and disappointed.
"There is a slight sense of revenge towards the Australians, of course, but mostly we need to take revenge against ourselves," he said.
Players to watch:
For France: Thierry Dusautoir will be a handful at the breakdown and should make some massive metres with ball-in-hand. South African-born Scott Spedding will look to continue his form from the Fiji match, which saw him play an influential role in handing France the win. All eyes will be on Teddy Thomas to see if he can continue his try-scoring form.
For Australia: Israel Folau has been the talk of the town after the fullback broke his recent try-scoring duck and displayed his finishing prowess. Tevita Kuridrani has got to be the best No.13 in the world and will definitely use his size and power to break through the heart of the French defence.
Head to head: It's going to be a tough old battle at the breakdown which will see the respective captains, Thierry Dusautoir and Micheal Hooper, go at it hammer-and-tongs. Wallabies veteran Adam Ashley-Cooper will have his hands full with Teddy Thomas after the Frenchman burst onto the international stage with a hat trick on debut against Fiji. The contest that will have everyone licking their lips has got to be the battle of explosive fullbacks Israel Folau and South African-born Scott Spedding. Spedding played a major role in helping France turn their luck around against the Pacific Islanders last week but will have a much harder battle against Folau, who broke his try-drought and showed his devastating finishing ability.
Recent results:
2014: Australia won 39-13, Sydney
2014: Australia won 6-0, Melbourne
2014: Australia won 50-23, Brisbane
2012: France won 33-6, Paris
2010: Australia won 59-16, Paris
2009: Australia won 22-6, Sydney
2008: Australia won 18-13, Paris
2008: Australia won 40-10, Brisbane
2008: Australia won 34-13, Sydney
2005: France won 26-16, Marseille
Prediction: France will be looking for revenge after they lost three consecutive matches to the Wallabies earlier this year. Australia are evolving under new coach Michael Cheika and will want to make it two-in-a-row in the Northern Hemisphere. Taking recent results into considering as well as recent form, France could pull off an unlikely win but Australia will have the experience to walk away with a hard-fought four point victory.
Teams:
France: 15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Teddy Thomas, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Alexandre Menini.
Replacements from: Xavier Chiocci, Benjamin Kayser, Uini Atonio, Alexandre Flanquart, Sébastien Vahaamahina, Charles Ollivon, Rory Kockott, Rémi Talès, Maxime Mermoz, Mathieu Bastareaud.
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Sean McMahon, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 James Horwill, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Will Genia, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Rob Horne.
Date: Saturday, November 15
Venue: Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 21.00 (20.00 GMT; 07.00 Sunday, November 16 Australian eastern time)
Expected weather: Cloudy, low of 8°C, high of 10°C
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO: Graham Hughes (England)
