Preview: Australia vs. France - prediction, team news, lineups

Australia welcome France to the Suncorp Stadium on Saturday morning for the second round of fixtures in the first ever Nations Championship campaign.

The Wallabies fell to a narrow 33-31 defeat against Ireland at the Sydney Football Stadium in their previous outing, while Les Bleus were also finely beaten by New Zealand in Christchurch.

Match preview

Following a dismal run of form, losing their previous four matches, Australia hoped that they could shift the momentum and prove to still be one of the strongest sides in World Rugby when facing Ireland in their Nations Championship opener at the Sydney Football Stadium last weekend.

After a strong first-half showing, scoring four tries to lead 24-19 at the break, it looked as though the hosts were going to do just that, however that optimism was agonisingly crushed during a difficult second period.

In what was a low scoring half, Ireland’s two converted tries, the latter coming with just three minutes remaining, saw the Wallabies fall to a narrow 33-31 defeat, leaving them above just Argentina and Fiji in the Southern Hemisphere table on two points.

Whilst their first match defeat is certainly not the end of the world, Joe Schmidt’s side will be looking to capitalise on the remainder of their home fixtures, facing Italy in Perth after hosting France in Brisbane on Saturday morning.

Overcoming a strong French side will be no easy feat, but winning five of their previous six matches against Les Bleus on home soil, Australia are more than capable of bouncing straight back from last weekend’s disappointment.

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Heading into the campaign as back-to-back Six Nations champions, the Nations Championship poses the perfect opportunity for France to stake their claim as the best international side in World Rugby.

In their opening fixture, Les Bleus had the chance to prove that against one of the Southern Hemisphere’s best sides, travelling to Christchurch to face New Zealand at the One NZ Stadium.

Fabien Galthie’s men came out of the blocks strongly, scoring a converted try within the first few minutes and seeing their opposition reduced to 14 men, though it was a start which they ended up failing to capitalise on.

Finding themselves six points behind at the break, France scored three second-half tries to give themselves a fighting chance, but ultimately fell just short, losing 34-32 to finish the first round of fixtures sat fourth in the Northern Hemisphere standings.

However, coming up against a Wallabies team that they have beaten in four of the previous five meetings between the sides, including a scintillating 28-26 victory down under in 2021, Les Bleus will certainly be confident that they can quickly hit back and start climbing towards the summit of the table.

Australia competition form:

Australia form (all competitions): 

France competition form:

France form (all competitions): 

Team News

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Schmidt has made a pair of changes to the backline that faced Ireland, with Tom Wright replacing Jock Campbell at full-back and Declan Meredith, who makes his test debut, coming in for Carter Gordon at fly-half.

In the pack, the Wallabies are unchanged, with Harry Wilson captaining the side from number eight and record appearance holder James Slipper on the bench once more.

As for France, they will be delighted with the return of Toulouse's Romain Ntamack, with Matthieu Jalibert shifting to full-back upon the fly-half's return.

There is one more change to the starting backs for Galthie's side too, with Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang replacing Damian Penaud, who will miss the remainder of this month's fixtures with a calf injury, on the wing.

There are also a plethora of differences in the visitors' scrum, with Jefferson Poirot, Maxime Lamothe, Hugo Auradou, Tom Staniforth and Pierre Bochaton all departing in place of Moses Alo-Emile, Peato Mauvaka, Florian Verhaeghe, Emmanuel Meafou and Lenni Nouchi.

Australia starting lineup:

15 Tom Wright, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Declan Meredith, 9 Ryan Lonergan; 1 Angus Bell, 2 Josh Nasser, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 4 Josh Canham, 5 Jeremy Williams, 6 Rob Valetini, 7 Fraser McReight, 8 Harry Wilson

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

France starting lineup:

15 Matthieu Jalibert, 14 Theo Attissogbe, 13 Fabien Brau-Boirie, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Maxime Lucu; 1 Moses Alo-Emile, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Demba Bamba, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 6 Oscar Jegou, 7 Lenni Nouchi, 8 Marko Gazzotti

Replacements:

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

We say: Australia 26-32 France

After both sides came up short in nail-biting encounters last weekend, this Saturday's fixture looks set to display more of the same and will undoubtedly be one of the closest contests of round two.

However, after pushing a strong New Zealand force to the wire in Christchurch, we think France will get their first win of the campaign against Australia and be looking to top the Northern Hemisphere standings when they face Japan a week later.