Expert
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Australia vs France |
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2017 Rugby League World Cup, November 3 |
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Canberra Stadium, Canberra, ACT | ||
Australia | France | |
52 | SCORE | 6 |
10 | Tries | 1 |
6 | Conversions | 1 |
0 | Penalty Goals | 0 |
0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Australia will be looking for another big win in the Rugby League World Cup when they take on France, who must pull off the upset to end all upsets to keep their finals chances alive. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 8pm (AEDT).
The Kangaroos came away with a convincing victory last weekend over England, but still need to prove a few points.
Their attack was a little up and down, particularly during the first half. That can certainly be put down to rust, but given there have been no changes to the spine, a cricket score could be on the cards against a French team who were uninspiring in their loss to Lebanon.
Australia, have rung the changes elsewhere for this match. James Maloney replaces Cooper Cronk in the halves, and a new-look wing combination will see Josh Mansour and Tom Trbojevic in line for plenty of tries, while Jake Trbojevic is out for the tournament, replaced by Josh McGuire at lock.
David Klemmer and Aaron Woods are back to the bench as well, with Reagan Campbell-Gillard set to make his debut up front alongside Jordan McLean, who came off the bench last time out.
Because Australia won last week, they are now in pole position to secure top spot in Group A. That should mean they avoid a semi-final clash with New Zealand, unless of course the Kiwis lose to Tonga next weekend.
France, on the other hand, are trying to save their World Cup campaign. Their loss to Lebanon means they need to beat either Australia or England, as well as getting their for-and-against back ahead of the Cedars – and that’s providing the Lebanese don’t win either of their two remaining games.
The French were ordinary last week. Their defence didn’t hold strong, and while it took some Mitchell Moses brilliance to put the French away at the end of the game, they should have been further ahead.
Theo Fages can only do so much, and while he was strong with his kicking and passing game, he needs to find some support from new halves partner Remy Marginet, who replaces William Barthau, and fullback Mark Kheirallah, who struggled to make much of an impact.
At the end of the day, France aren’t in the same league as Australia and will need to play out of their skin to compete.
Prediction
Australia will be way too strong. Let’s hope it’s not, but this could well be over before halftime.
Australia by 28.
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