The Les Bleus get a comfortable win over the Wallabies; Talking points

The Les Bleus get a comfortable win over the Wallabies in front of a home crowd at the Stade de France.  

Eddie Jones misery continues as Australia suffer a humbling 41-17 loss to World Cup hosts France. Jones had a go at the Australian media before departing to France, over their ‘negativity’. He said that they thought ‘the selection process is bad’ and that they ‘can't win’ but after the thrashing they received from France earlier this evening this might prove to be true.  

When Jones announced his World Cup squad, he chose 22-year-old Carter Gordon over experienced 35-year-old Quade Cooper at fly-half and after Gordons performance against France, he might be rethinking his decision. Gordon seemed to have left his kicking boots at home, after missing 4 kicks at goal in the first half with 3 of them being penalties and 1 conversion. Those are 11 vital points that would’ve changed the trajectory of the game for the Wallabies. To add onto on to that, the first try came through Gordons channel with 30-year-old Jonathan Danty bursting through him to go over the line. A poor display overall for the Melbourne Rebels playmaker. 

On the opposite side Matthieu Jalibert started at flyhalf for the home side in a lineup which is also expected to face the All Blacks early next month. Jalibert stands in for the injured Romain Ntamack, who will miss the world cup with a serious knee injury. Although the 24-year-old did not register any points on the board, he proved that he was the right choice, making an impressive 100 metres, which was the most in the game. An impressive overall performance from the young playmaker. 

The Les Bleus only outscored the youthful Australians by four tries to three, but the boot of fullback Thomas Ramos made an emphatic contribution with 16 points out of the total 41 giving France the edge. 

Overall, when France turned it on, they looked sharp but, at times, they did look fallible. They will look to go back and fine tune things a bit more. It was the kind of statement they would have been hoping to make a fortnight before they kick off the World Cup at the same Stade de France venue in Paris.  

For Australia, they came alive at times, had good phases of play but discipline and defence cost them. There’s hope for the Wallabies, but the fact is that the hunt for a first win under Eddie Jones goes on.