France beat Australia 42-26 to secure first Brisbane win since 1972
Aaron Grandidier Nkanang scored twice on his debut as France fought back from a half-time deficit to defeat Australia 42-26 in the Nations Championship.
The visitors recovered brilliantly to condemn Joe Schmidt’s side to a sixth consecutive defeat.
A devastating second-half display saw the European heavyweights score 30 unanswered points at Lang Park.
Wallabies dominate dramatic opening half
Emmanuel Meafou opened the scoring for the away side in the third minute to stun the home crowd.
However, momentum quickly shifted when the powerhouse lock received a yellow card for a high tackle on Rob Valetini.
Australia capitalised immediately through replacement hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa.
The indefatigable Fraser McReight then crossed the whitewash twice in eight minutes to give the hosts a commanding 21-12 half-time advantage.
Grandidier Nkanang shines on debut
Former Olympic sevens gold medallist Grandidier Nkanang responded with a superb finish in the corner to spark the revival.
Matthieu Jalibert, starting his first international game at full-back, later delivered a precision kick to set up the debutant’s second try.
With the game opening up, Romain Ntamack extended the lead after Wallabies full-back Tom Wright was sent to the sin-bin.
Florian Verhaeghe and Theo Attissogbe then crashed over to completely extinguish any hopes of an Australian comeback.
“It’s awesome, we studied them all week and I think it was a challenge for us to come and play,” said Meafou.
“Credit to the Wallabies. That was a tough first half. We knew they weren’t going to go away, but we got some good tries in the second half.”
Schmidt era nears conclusion
Jeremy Williams managed a late consolation score to clinch a try bonus point for the beleaguered hosts.
The Wallabies must now regroup to face Italy next week in what will be Schmidt’s final game in charge.
Incoming head coach Les Kiss will inherit a squad desperately searching for form and confidence.
Meanwhile, Les Bleus will travel to Tokyo to face Japan in the final fixture of their southern hemisphere tour.
The French squad will carry significant momentum having bounced back impressively from last week’s loss to the All Blacks.