AUSTRALIA ENSURED A series win against France as they beat Philippe Saint-André’s side 6-0 in a dour Test match in Melbourne.
The crowd at Etihad Stadium were given little to get excited about as both sides failed to spark consistently in attack. Ultimately, a penalty each from out-half Bernard Foley and scrum-half Nic White proved sufficient for the Wallabies to claim victory.
Ewen McKenzie’s men ran in seven tries last weekend in the first Test between these sides, romping to a 50-23 win, but those memories seemed distant in this second meeting as line breaks proved hard to come by.
A yellow card for flanker Bernard le Roux in the 69th minute didn’t help les Bleus’ hopes of a producing a late winning try, even if they did briefly threaten at the death. Both teams had problems from the tee, as Morgan Parra and Brice Dulin missed penalties for France, while White was off target with three of his attempts.
The Wallabies thought they had dotted down for a try in the 21st minute, when Ben McCalman followed up Matt Toomua’s kick, but TMO Vinny Munro found that the inside centre had made contact with Dulin off the ball and referee Wayne Barnes disallowed the score.
Saint-André may take positives in how his side improved from last weekend with key men like Mathieu Bastareaud, Thierry Dusautoir and Rémi Tales back in the starting XV. There was more territorial kicking and line speed in evidence in the French tactics, and the head coach will target a win in the final Test next weekend.
Australia scorers:
Penalties: Bernard Foley, Nic White.
