Australia 31 France 25

An 18-point blitz midway through the second half -- including 10 points from Stirling Mortlock -- was just enough to hold off a determined late charge by France.  The Wallabies eventually managed to squeeze out a 31-25 win at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

The Wallabies out-scored the French by four tries to three and held a 13-8 advantage at the break.

In the end the home team needed a strong finish, and it was some resolute defensive in those frenetic final few minutes which held off a fast-charging French team.

It was a game of constant changes.

Australia first held sway, to lead 13-0, before the French came back late in the first half and eventually took the lead early in the second period.  Then the Wallabies again took the lead -- scoring 18 unanswered points -- before having to hold on desperately as the French launched a massive onslaught on their tryline.

As a build-up towards the Tri-Nations, the Wallabies could not have wished for a better game.  It was hard, fast and a good test of both their attacking and defensive abilities.

They passed the test, but just.

French lock Olivier Brouzet, in an interview after the match, gave the credit for the Wallaby win to their halfback combination -- scrumhalf and captain George Gregan, along with flyhalf Stephen Larkham.

But Gregan was the first to admit that a lot of work still lies ahead for his team ahead of the Tri-Nations.  "We slacked off just before half-time and again towards the end of the match and those are certainly areas of our game we have to work on," he said.

But he will certainly be pleased with the variation the Wallabies showed on attack and the manner in which they managed to keep the ball through numerous phases ... at times in the match.

But as Gregan rightfully pointed out, there were some very worrying lapses and the French managed to exploit those.

The visitors certainly looked dangerous with the ball in hand, but they also showed how vulnerable the Wallabies can be when the opposition counter quickly.

Defensively the Wallabies also left some gaping holes, especially on the wing of Wendell Sailor.  While he is an exciting player when running with the ball, Sailor's all-round game leaves a lot to be desired ... at least by Wallaby standards.

There were many other positives for the Wallabies to take from this game.  The other league convert, Mat Rogers, looked very dangerous during his stint on the field, and clearly has a very good conception of the angles he need to run.

Young South African-born lock Daniel Vickerman also made a satisfying Wallaby debut, adding more depth to an already impressive Australian team.

From a French point of view there are also more positives than negatives, but they will be concerned by the number of opportunities wasted -- especially the manner in which their hands let them down.

But they showed heart and to have come back twice in the game and come so close show just how dangerous this young French team is going to be at Rugby World Cup 2003.

Man of the match:  Daniel Herbert had a good game with some strong runs, and Wendell Sailor did impress on the attack.  But the standout player was undoubtedly Stirling Mortlock.  He a constant nuisance to the French defenders and he even helped his forwards out -- to great effect -- during kick-offs.  He was richly rewarded for his work with two great tries, while he also added a penalty and a conversion.

Villain of the match:  There was only one yellow card, which went to Wallaby flank Owen Finegan for an unnecessary dangerous shoulder charge on French flanker Serge Betsen.  The number of acts of thuggery that he has been involved in over the years must be cause for concern ... that is if his coaches care about stamping out such acts.

Moment of the match:  French winger Aurélien Rougerie's second try, four minutes from time, when the French started a late charge, was one of those moments that ensure this is a match that will be remembered for some time.  It started when Elton Flatley kicked downfield and Nicolas Brusque tidied up, before slipping a wonderful pass to Olivier Magne, who cut straight through Australia's defence.  Magne had no support and was stopped by Chris Latham, but suddenly the French arrived in numbers and they went to the right.  The Wallaby defence scrambled and the ball went loose, but Rougerie picked up the pass and with his strength went over for his second try of the night.  When Merceron kicked the conversion you suddenly sensed that France might win this one.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Rod Moore, Mat Rogers, Sean Hardman, Daniel Vickerman
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez (c), 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Sebastien Chabal, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Frederic Michalak, 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Pepito Elhorga, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Cedric Heymans, Olivier Magne, Yannick Jauzion, Pierre Mignoni, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Christophe Porcu
Unused:  Olivier Azam

Attendance:  64703
Referee:  Honiss p.

Points Scorers

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Herbert D.J., Mortlock S.A. 2
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 1, Mortlock S.A. 1
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

France
Tries:  Rougerie A. 2, Marconnet S. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 2