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Five talking points from France vs Wallabies

Roar Guru
20th November, 2016
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David Pocock is quality, but where does he fit? (Photo: AFP)
Roar Guru
20th November, 2016
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6799 Reads

France and Australia have played out a thrilling encounter in Paris, with the Wallabies holding off a late French charge to claim the victory at Stade de France by 25 points to 23.

It was a bruising contest from both sides, both throwing themselves into contact with no quarter given, the last play of the match seeing a drop goal floating outside the upright to break French hearts.

All the wash-up from France vs Wallabies:
» Match report: Wallabies outlast France
» Brent Ford’s talking points
» What changes should the Wallabies make for Ireland?
» Vote on our DIY player ratings
» Re-live the match with our live blog
» WATCH the highlights from the match

Wallaby depth
After several changes and late disruption to the run-on side due to Quade Cooper’s injury, this match shows the Wallabies are starting to build some real depth and confidence across the wider squad.

To secure a victory in Paris without a number of regulars is a tremendous achievement and provides Michael Cheika with an excellent platform to continue to build upon for the Wallabies.

Wallaby defence
Committed, aggressive and urgent, scrambling admirably on numerous occasions, Coach Cheika will be relatively happy with the performance here.

It would be easy to poke holes in the lack of cohesion at times but not unexpected given the number of changes within the side and shows this side is working hard for each other as a group, a heartening sign given the challenges to come.

Wallaby scrum
One area that the Wallabies struggled with, they were put under constant pressure by a big French side. Mario Ledesma will have his work cut out here to improve this area of the Wallaby squad with the Wallabies’ loosehead side struggling at times.

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David Pocock
Not bad this bloke, a constant menace at the breakdown causing the French many headaches, easily my man of the match with another stand out performance.

Whether you are a fan of the ‘pooper’ or not, it is not difficult to see why Cheika insists on playing both Michael Hooper and Pocock in the same loose forward trio.

Luke Morahan
An assured performance from the Australian outside back and of the non-regular starters is perhaps the one player to be causing Cheika to reconsider the pecking order.

Considering the strength of the opposition to come, Morahan appeals as being in better form than Henry Speight, particularly in defence and it would not be surprising to see a change here next week in Dublin.

Those are my talking points from this mornings close encounter with the Wallabies showing tremendous character to defeat the French.

The Wallabies grand slam ambitions continue next week against a very good Irish side next week and they can look forward to this challenging encounter with confidence as they remain unbeaten in the North thus far.

What are your thoughts Roarers?

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