Wallabies waltz past France
The Wallabies ran in seven tries as they handed France a comprehensive 50-16 defeat at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Wallabies overcame the loss of new captain Stephen Moore in just the third minute to overwhelm the French and send a message to rivals New Zealand, who struggled to beat England 20-15 in Auckland earlier Saturday.
The final scoreline flattered the French, who were down 50-9 before scoring two late tries with the game well and truly over.
The Wallabies scored four tries in the first half and three more in the second as the French wilted in the face of the rampant Australian attack.
More than 33,000 fans turned up to watch the match at the Suncorp Stadium, played in almost perfect conditions.
The turn-out was lower than expected thanks largely to the absence of Queensland scrumhalf Will Genia, who was dropped from the 23-man squad and replaced by Nic White from the Brumbies.
But the untested halves combination of White and Bernard Foley were superb, combining brilliantly with the equally untested inside centre Matt Toomua.
They were so dominant that coach Ewen McKenzie was able to rest White and Toomua with 15 minutes remaining.
The Wallabies hardly missed a beat, with replacement backs Kurtley Beale and Pat McCabe both scoring spectacular tries.
France had started brightly enough and played some enterprising rugby in the opening 10 minutes.
But once the Australians settled they quickly began to take control, dominating both possession and territory.
Fullback Israel Folau continued his remarkable try-scoring record when he brushed aside Yoann Huget to cross out wide for his 11th try in just 16 Tests.
Right winger Adam Ashley-Cooper and flanker Michael Hooper added to the try-scoring against an increasingly despondent France.
On the stroke of half-time centre Matt Toomua took advantage of some comical French defending when he fell on the ball for a try after French scrumhalf Maxime Machenaud twice failed to ground the ball over the line.
The French held out for 17 minutes in the second half but the Wallabies weren't to be denied as winger Nick Cummins added the fifth try after some good lead-up work from Toomua and Folau.
Beale and McCabe then both crossed after some superb backline work and a record winning margin was on the cards.
However, the French bravely battled back, with Morgan Parra barging over for a five-pointer, before they were awarded a penalty try right in full time after the Wallaby scrum disintegrated.
Man of the match: Michael Hooper had a stormer stepping into the captaincy role, but the biggest star was Israel Folau who showed what an attacking threat he can be.
Moment of the match: Folau's break to set up the first try set the tone as the Wallabies went on to run rings around the French.
Villain of the match: There were none.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Folau, Ashley-Cooper, Hooper, Toomua, Cummins, Beale, McCabe
Cons: Foley 6
Pen: Foley
For France:
Tries: Parra, penalty try
Cons: Michalak 2
Pens: Michalak
DG: Michalak
Teams:
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (captain), 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 James Horwill, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Pat McCabe.
France: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Yohann Huget, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Felix Le Bourhis, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud; 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Nicolas Mas (captain), 2 Guilhelm Guirado, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Antoine Burban, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Remi Lamerat, 23 Brice Dulin.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
