Preview: Wallabies v France 3rd Test

The Plans

The Wallabies

They should use their big pack to play a ‘big’ game in a test match that is going to be as confrontational as the second test was.

They should not try to play a mobile forward style of rugby as first choice against a light pack but take the ball around the corner more, or one out, maybe two sometimes, in continuity. Big guys should be used to bend defensive lines and dominate the collisions as their bread and butter. More latching runs should be used and ruck support should be brutal against the second-arriving Frenchman.

And when France has the ball they have to dominate the tackle, and in counter-rucking. As in the scrum, there is no use having big fellows playing smaller ones if you don’t get the hit in other aspects of forwards’ play.

Kurtley Beale should be brought on earlier whatever the scoreboard says at the time. Apart from Folau, he is the only back that France fears.

 Kurtley Beale – a threat to France

Their backs should have received advice to cover better when their kickers advance up the field, and should have been shown the tapes of missed opportunities to land their kicks on grass.

They also have to refine their passing to their second wave so the ball just misses the back of the dummy runner. Otherwise the pass receivers are too deep to deceive.

They will target winger Bonneval because he was no great shakes in the first test at fullback.

Les Bleus

France should use a high tempo game to run the big Aussies around and use Bastareaud for some barging work close in.

They will kick the ball a lot as they did in the second test because they will realise they are better at it, and they will look more for vacant spots when the Aussie kickers advance, and kick the ball back to the same spot again.

They will know that they have the game and the players to beat Australia if they can hold onto the ball and no doubt they would have worked a lot on ball handling under pressure.

The Matchups

Big boppers v. mobile forwards

Maybe this should have been Will Skelton (140 kgs) v. Alexandre Flanquart (102 kgs)—but the contest will be more about how the heavier Aussie second row and back row players use their weight advantage, and how France use their mobility and greater athleticism to make it irrelevant.

The heavier Wallabies will seek to tire out smaller defenders by forcing them to make many tackles against dominant runs. France will want to play smart rugby and run the big guys around by moving the ball wide from the ruck to get the boppers running over there; then switch play back to where they came from.

McKenzie will have a definite plan on how to use Skelton and it will be fascinating to see what it is. No doubt he would have consulted with the Waratahs’ coaching staff.

Above all, the bigger Wallabies have to play big, because France have been playing a light pack more often than not for the last decade and they know how to play against bigger opponents.

 Bernard Foley – will have to show more this week

Bernard Foley v. Rémi Talès

Bernard Foley was unimpressive last week and it didn’t help that Matt Toomua was also.

Talès was anonymous for much of the Melbourne test but the late bloomer can play. His run in the last few minutes in Melbourne when he identified space, took it, and passed to hooker Guilhem Guirado on the burst, shows what he is capable of —and Saint-André will be prodding him to try it more.

Coach McKenzie will look at Foley with a keen eye to re-examine how he plays in a tight test match under pressure. He is ready to invest in him as the regular flyhalf until Cooper comes back, but the Waratah flyhalf will have to show more this week.

Bench v. bench

The Wallabies have only McCalman as a backrow reserve whereas somebody like Matt Hodgson would have been more serviceable. But they have an advantage with their back reserves: Beale and the rejuvenated Rob Horne.

 Matt Hodgson – would have been handy on the bench

France have overloaded their matchday forwards with athletic players. If starting second rower Flanquart compared to Skelton was not enough, nor Damien Chouly’s mobilty better than Palu’s, they have an athletic flanker, Nyanga,  on the bench as well.

They can work this trick because they have only two reserve backs whereas the Wallabies have three. France have only three men in their matchday 23 covering 9 and 10 whereas Australia has five.

If Australia will be concerned if Hooper has to retire, France will be no less worried to see Parra or Talès injured.

If there are injuries who will get the luck?

Prediction

France has a better balanced side and played well last week apart from their clumsy ball work. They were better than the Aussies at the breakdown and at kicking from hand.

However I think they have only one good test match on tour and they had it last week.

Moreover, the Wallabies looked the more likely to create chances and I’m backing them to get into France’s territory more on Saturday to make them bear fruit.

Wallabies by 12

Team Lists

Australia — 1 James Slipper, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Rob Simmons, 5 Will Skelton, 6 Scott Fardy, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 8 Wycliff Palu, 9 Nic White, 10. Bernard Foley, 11 Nick Cummins, 12 Matt Toomua, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 15 Israel Folau.

Replacements: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Laurie Weeks, 19 James Horwill, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.

France — 1 Alexandre Menini, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 3 Rabah Slimani, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 5 Yoann Maestri, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 8 Damien Chouly, 9 Morgan Parra, 10 Rémi Talès, 11 Hugo Bonneval 12 Wesley Fofana, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 14 Yoann Huget, 15 Brice Dulin.

Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Vincent Debaty,18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Bernard le Roux, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Yannick Nyanga, 22 Maxime Machenaud, 23 Remi Lamerat.

Match Details

Date: Saturday, June 21
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Kick-off: 3 pm AEST
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy (Ireland)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

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