They had to bounce back after the defeat at the All Blacks. Job done, and in some style. France won 42-26 away to Australia at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, in round two of the Nations Championship, after a one-sided second half. But nothing about it was straightforward.
A first half spent suffering
For forty minutes, France were full of doubt. Although Emmanuel Meafou had made the ideal start inside two minutes, Australia quickly imposed their tempo and their sheer volume of play. Flanker Fraser McReight, who scored twice (26th and 33rd minutes), punished French defensive lapses, and the Wallabies went in at the break with a deserved lead, 21-12. Against an inventive, well-organised Australian side, France spent a long time chasing the game. Romain Ntamack himself acknowledged a difficult first half.
The turning point: the Ntamack-Jalibert axis unlocks everything
It was after the interval that the match swung. Moved back to fly-half and paired with Matthieu Jalibert at full-back, Romain Ntamack put his vision to work, and the long-awaited duo finally delivered the display that had been promised. More tempo, more width, space found where France had been running into a wall before the break.
The result was spectacular: 30 unanswered points between the 45th and 72nd minutes. A Maxime Lucu penalty, then tries from Grandidier-Nkanang, Ntamack, Verhaeghe and Attissogbe. In under thirty minutes, a nine-point deficit became a twenty-point lead.
Grandidier-Nkanang, and a Meafou-Verhaeghe pairing that scores
This win is also about the men who built it. On his first cap, wing Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang scored twice (17th and 49th minutes) and had a night he will never forget. In a quirk of fate, Emmanuel Meafou and Florian Verhaeghe, paired in the second row a fortnight after facing each other in the Top 14 final, both crossed for tries. And off the tee, captain Maxime Lucu was perfect (four conversions, two penalties).
A win that goes into the history books
Beyond the way it unfolded, it is the significance of the result that stands out. According to figures relayed by the specialist press, this is only France’s sixth win in Australia since the two nations first met in 1928. More to the point, none of the previous ones had been by more than ten points: Saturday’s sixteen-point margin makes it France’s biggest ever win on Australian soil. With six tries and a bonus-point victory, France move provisionally to the top of their hemisphere in this new Nations Championship.
How it unfolded
| Min. | Event | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2′ | France try | Meafou (+ Lucu con.) | 0-7 |
| 10′ | Australia try | Paenga-Amosa (+ con.) | 7-7 |
| 17′ | France try | Grandidier-Nkanang | 7-12 |
| 27′ | Australia try | McReight (+ con.) | 14-12 |
| 34′ | Australia try | McReight (+ con.) | 21-12 |
| 45′ | France penalty | Lucu | 21-15 |
| 49′ | France try | Grandidier-Nkanang | 21-20 |
| 52′ | France try | Ntamack (+ Lucu con.) | 21-27 |
| 56′ | France try | Verhaeghe (+ Lucu con.) | 21-34 |
| 62′ | France penalty | Lucu | 21-37 |
| 72′ | France try | Attissogbe | 21-42 |
| 76′ | Australia try | Williams | 26-42 |
A week after that narrow reverse at the All Blacks (34-32), France show they know how to respond, and that their squad depth is starting to pay off. The one blot on the copybook will remain that first half, which bears close review.
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