BRISBANE, 3 July 2005 — Australia beat France 37-31 in a pulsating 10-try showpiece clinched with an exhilarating try involving nine players at Lang Park here yesterday.
Two second-half tries by replacement center Morgan Turinui helped Australia survive a late scare from an enterprising French team to win in a one-off Test. The Wallabies outscored France six tries to four and could have won by a much more comfortable margin but for poor goalkicking, with center Matt Giteau succeeding with just two of his eight attempts at goal.
French scrumhalf Jean-Baptiste Elissalde in contrast kept his brave side in the match with an unblemished record of four conversions and a penalty. Australia went into the test after scoring 23 tries in two warm-up matches against Samoa and Italy and at times threatened to run away from the French as well, but Elissalde’s side refused to give in after a tough two-Test series against South Africa.
France’s unpredictable backs launched waves of counterattacks in the second half, with centres Yannick Jauzion and Benoit Baby a handful for the Australians. Giteau kicked off the scoring with an early penalty before France nabbed the first try against the run of play.
With Australia on attack, winger Cedric Heymans pounced to intercept a pass by fullback Chris Latham to give France an early 7-3 lead in a scrappy but entertaining match. The Wallabies quickly hit back when flyhalf Stephen Larkham stepped around his opposite number Frederic Michalak to race 55 metres for Australia’s first try. Latham then bumped Michalak off to score from the base of an attacking scrum just before halftime. Australia led 15-7 at the break, although both sides had missed several try-scoring opportunities. Baby was held up over the line soon after the break before Jauzion put free-running winger Julien Laharrague over for France to close the gap to 15-14.
All Blacks Crush Lions
48-18 to Win Series
In Wellington, New Zealand, inspired by brilliant 33-point flyhalf Dan Carter, overwhelmed a new-look British and Irish Lions with a record 48-18 victory yesterday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
New Zealand set a new record for the highest total by any international side against the Lions, eclipsing their own 38-6 win in the final Test at Auckland in 1983, though the margin was two short of the record from the same match.
Carter capped a wonderful display by setting an individual scoring record from two tries, five penalties and four conversions, beating Matt Burke’s 25 points in Melbourne four years ago.
New Zealand captain Tana Umaga, who had been at the centre of controversy for his part in the tackle that injured Brian O’Driscoll, scored the first of his team’s five tries while Sitiveni Sivivatu and Richie McCaw also grabbed five-pointers. The Lions’ new skipper Gareth Thomas scored their first try of the series — after two minutes and Irish flanker Simon Easterby scored a late consolation. English flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson booted two penalties and a conversion but left the match with a shoulder injury.
The Lions, showing 11 changes from the team humiliated 21-3 last week, produced a far more committed performance but were still comprehensively beaten by a ruthless All Blacks that justified their ranking as the world’s best team.
