The French team overcame Australia in the last minutes after a hotly contested match (30-29) which almost escaped Fabien Galthié's players against Australians...

Rugby: the XV of France beats Australia on the wire and signs a new record

Winger Damian Penaud during his 76th-minute try during the France-Australia match on November 5, 2022 at the Stade de France in Paris.

Text by: Valentin Berg Follow

3 mins

The France team overcame Australia in the final minutes after a hotly contested match (30-29) which nearly escaped Fabien Galthié's players against combative Australians.

The French chained their 11th victory in a row, a record in the history of the France team.

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First meeting of a series of three test-matches scheduled for this fall for the France team, this shock against the Australians marked the very first stage of the path which should lead the Blues to the long-awaited coronation at the next FIFA World Cup. rugby (from September 8 to Saturday October 28, 2023).

The last nation to have beaten France, in July 2021, Australia has not shown flamboyant form in recent months, with in particular 9 defeats in their last 12 meetings in Europe.

In front of them, came an imperial XV of France, crowned champion of the Six Nations Tournament without losing a single match last March, and which remained on 10 victories in a row, a record in the history of the Blues which has held since the end of the 1930s.

An ability to bend opponents

Despite this observation, the Wallabies had a good start to the match by obtaining a penalty in the 3rd minute, converted by Bernard Foley.

Four minutes later, the France team responded in the same way thanks to Thomas Ramos (7th).

After suffering the onslaught of the Australians without finding a solution, the Blues believed to pack the meeting thanks to the test of Charles Ollivon (15th), bringing the score to 11-6.

But the referee immediately canceled the French try due to irregular support.

The Australian team took advantage of this to score the first validated try of the meeting after a good breakthrough by Lalakai Foketi (18th).

Despite a combative first period well managed by the Australians, the XV of France once again confirmed its ability to reverse the situation by scoring a try in the dying seconds of the first period thanks to Julien Marchand (41st), to lead 19-13 at the break.

A less controlled first match

Upon his return to the pitch, the France team displayed new intentions, determined to be sharper in the Australian camp.

Pushed to the fault, the Australians conceded two penalties in the first minutes, allowing the Blues to widen the gap (22-16).

Not enough, since a try converted by the Wallabies allowed them to return to the lead by one point in the 58th minute (22-23).

In full weak time, the French took the onslaught of the Australians without succeeding in getting their hands on the ball.

Approaching the last ten minutes, the Blues did not go far from the test after two touches (69th) near the Australian goal line.

It took a magnificent solo try from Damian Penaud (76th) to allow the French team to pass Australia four minutes from the end of the match.

Less in control and more hesitant, the French signed a snatch victory for this first match and at the same time achieved the feat of winning their 11th match in a row, a record never before achieved in the history of French rugby.

They will look to improve that record even further against South Africa on Saturday 12 November.

In the other two Test matches of the day, New Zealand easily outclassed Wales (55-23), while Ireland beat South Africa by a narrow header (19-16).

Rugby: the XV of France beats Australia on the wire and signs a new record

Rugby: the XV of France beats Australia on the wire and signs a new record

An ability to bend opponents

A less controlled first match

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