Australia beaten by France for first winless European tour in 67 years

Quilter Nations Series

France (19) 48

Cons: Ramos 5 Pen: Ramos 5 Tries: Depoortere 2, Bielle-Biarrey 2, Ramos, Marchand, Lamonthe,

Australia (19) 33

After being defeated by France at the Stade de France 48-33, Australia have now won the first time on the European tour for the first time in 67 years.

After falling to Italy, England, and Ireland, the Wallabies suffered their 10th defeat of the year.

After losing to Ireland last Saturday, Australia has conceded more than 40 points for the second consecutive week.

The Wallabies, who have lost 10 Tests in a calendar year, have at a historic low with this defeat.

It means that Joe Schmidt, who will step down after the Nations Championship in July, currently has a win percentage of less than 40%.

Following a Len Ikitau run, the Wallabies, who will host the 2027 World Cup, took the lead with Matt Faessler, but France responded quickly with Nicolas Depoortere and Louis Bielle-Biarrey set up him.

The visitors took a second lead after tries from Angus Bell and Antoine Faesler, but scores from Thomas Ramos and Bielle-Biarrey, both of which, left the score at 19-19 at the break.

However, Australia was unable to sustain France’s energy for long enough in the second half.

Before Max Jorgensen replied for the Wallabies, Depoortere gave the hosts the lead, but France took control late on.

Les Bleus had stayed in the game for the first 20 minutes thanks to poor French discipline, which included eight penalties, and Les Bleus had already led by just one point.

However, Maxime Lamothe added another minute into the score as Julien Marchand and Bielle-Biarrey added to their advantage as Josh Nasser’s quick French response followed.

Since making his World Cup debut in 2023, Bielle-Biarrey has now scored 20 Test tries in 22 appearances, including two tries, while France’s win earned them the top seed in the draw for the tournament.

Replacements: O Jegou, H. Auradou, T. Laclayat, R. Taofifenua, M. Lamothe, K. Gourgues, and B. Jauneau.

Yellow card: Lucu (35).

M. Jorgensen, H. Potter, D. Pietsch, J. Suaali’i, L. Ikitau, L. I. Gordon, F. McReight, H. Wilson, T. Hooper, J. Williams, N. Frost, T. Tupou, M. Faessler, and A. Bell are Australia’s members.

A Alaalatoa, J. Nasser, R. Valetini, F. Daugunu, A. Ross, C. Tizzano, and K. Thomas are the replacements.