France staged a magnificent second-half fightback, overturning a nine-point interval deficit to overpower Australia 42-26 in a pulsating Nations Championship clash on Saturday.
After suffering a heartbreaking two-point loss against New Zealand last weekend, Les Bleus ran in four unanswered tries after the break to secure their first victory over the Wallabies in Brisbane since 1972.
It was a harrowing case of déjà vu for the hosts, who had also led Ireland last Saturday before collapsing late on to lose by two points.
Joe Schmidt’s men comfortably matched the French in the opening 40 minutes but faded drastically in the second stanza, completely overwhelmed by the breathtaking speed and clinical execution of the visitors’ expansive attack.
Played in front of a capacity crowd of 52,000 at Suncorp Stadium in perfect conditions, both sides displayed a glorious willingness to throw the ball around and play at maximum tempo.
The French ignited the scoreboard in just the third minute when towering lock Emmanuel Meafou barged over from close range following sustained pressure.
Stung by the early 7-0 deficit, the Wallabies hit back when hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa crossed the whitewash after a clever, disguised play at the front of a line-out. Ryan Lonergan slotted a brilliant conversion from the touchline to level the scores after ten minutes.
Fabien Galthié’s charges continued to exploit the firm surface, shifting the point of contact out wide at every opportunity to stretch the Australian defensive line. They reaped their reward in the 18th minute when fly-half Romain Ntamack delivered a perfectly weighted chip over the top for winger Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, who outpaced Declan Meredith to dot down in the corner.
Brisbane-born Meafou was enjoying a highly eventful homecoming; after claiming the opening try, he was shown a yellow card by the referee for a high tackle on Rob Valetini. The Wallabies ruthlessly exploited their temporary numerical advantage, with outstanding flanker Fraser McReight burrowing over from close range before Lonergan’s conversion nudged the home side into a 14-12 lead.
McReight plundered his second of the afternoon five minutes before the interval, crashing over on the back of an unstoppable rolling maul to stretch the Wallabies’ advantage to 21-12. A heroic defensive stand against a marauding French forward pack right on the stroke of half-time ensured Australia trooped into the tunnel brimming with confidence.
However, the momentum shifted decisively after the restart. Maxime Lucu narrowed the gap to six points with a booming 46-metre penalty five minutes into the second half. The visitors closed the deficit to a single point shortly after when Grandidier-Nkanang ghosted into space out wide to claim his brace.
France then reclaimed the lead for good when Ntamack finished sharply in the corner, with Wallabies full-back Tom Wright watching from the sin-bin after being yellow-carded for a professional foul. Lucu added the extras from the touchline to make it 27-21, which rapidly became 34-21 minutes later when lock Florian Verhaeghe crashed underneath the posts.
Lucu pushed the scoreline beyond two converted scores with a simple penalty in front of the uprights, before France sealed a devastating victory with a clinical finish from right-winger Théo Attissogbe. A late consolation try from lock Jeremy Williams at least ensured Australia salvaged a small positive in the form of a four-try scoring bonus point.
AFP
