Key events
This is round two of whatever the Nations Championship is. If there was a notable result from the opening six fixtures it was South Africa’s hammering of England, putting the world on notice they are on course for a Webb Ellis Cup three-peat.
To be inside a fervid Ellis Park, their traditional citadel, last Saturday and witness their 45-21 win over England was instructive on several fronts, but there was one entirely unavoidable takeaway. Is there anyone out there with the physical firepower to stop the Springboks when the world’s leading sides converge on Australia next year?
France XV
There’s a new No 10 for France tonight as well as Romain Ntamack comes into playmaker as Fabien Galthié rings the changes after last weekend’s near miss in New Zealand.
1. Moses Alo-Emile, 2. Peato Mauvaka, 3. Demba Bamba, 4. Florian Verhaeghe, 5. Emmanuel Meafou, 6. Lenni Nouchi, 7. Oscar Jégou, 8. Marko Gazzotti, 9. Maxime Lucu (c), 10. Romain Ntamack, 11. Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 12. Yoram Moefana, 13. Fabien Brau-Boirie, 14. Théo Attissogbe, 15. Matthieu Jalibert.
Finishers: 16. Maxime Lamothe, 17. Jefferson Poirot, 18. Tevita Tatafu, 19. Hugo Auradou, 20. Tom Staniforth, 21. Killian Tixeront, 22. Nolann Le Garrec, 23. Kalvin Gourgues.
Australia XV
Declan Meredith becomes Wallaby 997 and the latest candidate to solve Australia’s longstanding issues at five-eighth. The 27-year-old has come from such a long way out to make his debut he doesn’t even have a picture against his name or a biography on the Wallabies website. His partnership with Brumbies teammate Ryan Lonergan will be critical.
1. Angus Bell, 2. Josh Nasser, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Josh Canham, 5. Jeremy Williams, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson (c), 9. Ryan Lonergan, 10. Declan Meredith, 11. Dylan Pietsch, 12. Len Ikitau, 13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 14. Max Jorgensen, 15. Tom Wright.
Replacements: 16. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17. James Slipper, 18. Taniela Tupou, 19. Lachlan Shaw, 20. Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Jock Campbell, 23. Filipo Daugunu.
Angus Fontaine sets the scene ahead of yet another examination of Australia’s standing among the leading nations in International rugby.
Hard luck. Hard lessons. Call it what you want, but Australia’s 31-33 loss to Ireland last weekend has to harden the Wallabies’ resolve to stop losing gallantly and find a ruthless edge. With one win from their past nine Tests and the threat of home World Cup humiliation looming in 14 months, honourable defeat and positive intent no longer cut it. They must beat France this Saturday in Brisbane or they risk losing everything.
Daniel Gallen was impressed with the Wallabies against Ireland, but laments the longstanding absence of match-winners in gold.
Test rugby is often dressed up as a complex sport, and much of the time it is. This match had intricate handling patterns, breakdown contests, lineout disruption and tactical momentum swings. But some truths remain blunt. If Australia can keep playing with this much ambition, skill and speed, they will trouble anyone.
To beat the very best, though, they still need two old things. A big man who can batter people when beauty is not enough. And a clutch goal-kicker who makes everyone in the stadium believe, before he has even taken his first step, that the ball is going over. Without them, the Wallabies will thrill, but the biggest games may keep slipping away.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v France in round two of the Southern Hemisphere series of the 2026 Nations Championship. Kick-off at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium is scheduled for 5.40pm AEST.
So here we are again. Another winter, another week of what-ifs, another referendum on the state of Australian rugby.
Since the nadir of the 2023 World Cup the script has hardly changed. Seasons come and go, personnel fluctuates, results steadfastly refuse to budge.
The dispassionate World Rugby standings have Australia ranked eighth, with a points tally as close to outsiders Uruguay as the benchmark Springboks.
But the partisan former players that dominate the discourse will tell us on a weekly basis the valiant Wallabies give their all and deserve nothing but credit for falling just short of the breakthrough triumph that would begin their noble march back to the top of the sport. More often than not they tell us the match officials are the principal obstacle denying them.
Last weekend’s defeat to Ireland was textbook. In isolation, defeat snatched from the jaws of victory (assisted by a refereeing “howler” according to the boosters in the commentary box).
In a broader context, it was a fifth Test loss in a row (all to northern hemisphere opponents), and an 18th defeat in their past 26 outings, stretching back to August 2024. Of those eight wins, only three were by more than five points.
“The group has reset this week in Brisbane after what was a tough ending to the first game of the Nations Championship,” coach Joe Schmidt said. “We have worked hard on continuing to improve after missing some vital opportunities last weekend. We know we can be better on Saturday and we know that we will need to be against the back-to-back Six Nations Champions.”
Fourth-ranked France began their Nations Championship with a two-point defeat to the All Blacks in Christchurch. They’ve won their past three against the Wallabies, but all of these fixtures were in Paris.
Their most recent visit to Australia was 2021 when an effective B team acquitted themselves well despite enduring Covid protocols across a gripping three-match series.
I’ll be back with final team lists and more shortly. Please send me your emails and keep me company throughout the evening. The address is jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
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