France’s Rugby League World Cup finals dream is all but over after they were hammered by 46 points at the hands of Australia on Friday night in Canberra.
Wade Graham bagged four tries on a dangerous left edge for the Kangaroos as they had their way with the French, who only had 45 per cent of possession for the match.
There was no doubting the bravery of the French, who defended their line strongly at different points throughout the game and made the Kangaroos work for it, but the class difference between the two sides was clear to see.
It took Australia 12 minutes to get on the scoreboard, only coming off the back of a French error on halfway. It was Wade Graham who burst over for the first of his four, with the next coming in the very next set as Australia marched down the field with ease.
When France lost their concentration in defence, it had strong effects, with back-to-back tries happening twice in the first half. Wade Graham scored his third in the 31st minute, before Josh Dugan put on a sensational effort down the left-hand side of the field to add his name to the scoresheet.
In between the two sets of tries, it was French fullback Mark Kheirallah reading an inside grubber from Cameron Smith, designed to have Billy Slater end up under the sticks. Instead, Kheirallah would put up an early contender for try of the tournament as he latched onto the kick and ran the length of the field for the try.
At halftime though, Australia had blown their lead out to 14 points and with France struggling to hang onto the ball or build any pressure on the green and gold, the Kangaroos took no time to build their lead after the break.
Cameron Munster was first over, before Tyson Frizell ran over the top of the defence. He broke three tackles within ten metres of the line to score. Billy Slater scored on the very next set to start blowing the scoreboard out off an inside ball from Michael Morgan who had broken the line.
Graham added his fourth try, before Munster finished with a double and Valentine Holmes capped off the night for the Aussies, bringing up the half-century with a try in the corner.
Australia now take on Lebanon, while France will try one more time to keep themselves in the tournament, taking on England next week. They must not only win, but elevate their for and against higher than that of the Cedars to advance to the quarter-finals, and unfortunately, that looks almost impossible for Les Tricolores.
Australia 52
France 6
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