France produced a striking turnaround to beat Australia 42-26 in Brisbane, recovering from a losing position at the interval with a second half in which they ran in a flurry of points, France 24 reported. It was a comeback that flattered France little given how the first half had gone, and it extended a run of results that has become increasingly one-sided in their favor.
A game of two halves
For 40 minutes, the match belonged to Australia. The Wallabies played with pace and ambition and led at the break, scoring the tries that gave their supporters at Suncorp Stadium real hope, the NZ Herald reported. France, who had begun their campaign with a narrow defeat, looked in danger of a second loss. Then the game turned. After the interval, and with Australia briefly down to fourteen men following a yellow card, France seized control and did not let go, scoring a rush of unanswered points that flipped the scoreboard and the momentum.
France's cutting edge
The second-half surge showcased the attacking quality that has made France one of the sport's leading sides. Their backline found space that had not been there before, and a debutant wing marked his first appearance with two tries, while the fly-half Romain Ntamack was at the heart of the best of their play. Australia managed a late score, but by then the contest was gone, and France ran out comfortable winners. The margin, from a nine-point halftime deficit to a sixteen-point victory, told the story of a team that raised its level sharply when it mattered.
A growing dominance
The result continued France's recent ascendancy over Australia, a fixture that has tilted firmly their way. It also, by several accounts, marked their first win over the Wallabies in Brisbane in more than half a century, giving the victory an added weight of history. For Australia, a promising first-half performance that yielded nothing is a familiar and frustrating tale, and leaves them chasing the tournament early.
The new competition
The match is part of the Nations Championship, a new global competition bringing together leading teams from the northern and southern hemispheres, with the standings building toward a final later in the year. France, among the world's top-ranked sides, will be satisfied not only with the two points but with the manner of the win, a reminder that even on an off day they carry the firepower to overwhelm good opponents in a short space of time. For the tournament, an early comeback of this scale is exactly the kind of drama a new event needs to announce itself.
