Australia 29 defeated France 17
Melbourne - 22 June 2002

Fr�re Jacques, Fr�re Jacques, O� sont les Bleus? O� sont les Bleus?

In the first of their two tests against the Wallabies, the much-vaunted Six Nations champions were missing in action in a relatively lacklustre affair at Melbourne's Colonial Stadium. Suffering from injury, jet lag, and an unexpected defeat at the hands of Argentina's Pumas, the Tri-Couleures never got out of first gear, and only occasionally did they bear a faint resemblance to the Grand Slam champions of the Northern Hemisphere.

The Wallabies, to their credit, played well enough to stifle the play of the French, securing the bulk of possession and territory. They too were far from perfect, but were more adventurous and more successful with the ball in hand, particularly in the first half.

English referee Chris White was, disappointingly but predictably, pedantic with the whistle, all but killing the game as a spectacle. Someone must have torn the Advantage section out of his rule book. And the game was further slowed by "injury" stoppages, a tactic employed by both sides.

Sadly for the Wallabies, two of these injuries were serious. Jeremy Paul is once more a first round casualty, out for four weeks with rib cartilage damage. Toutai Kefu, just back from a previous injury, has broken his hand, and will go under the knife this week. He, too, is expected to be unavailable for at least four weeks.

This was the first real showcase of Eddie Jones' vision of the brand of rugby that he believes the Wallabies will need to play to win the World Cup next year. The tactics look good, focusing on quick ball distribution out wide and pacey and aggressive forward play. The intentions were there on Saturday night, but the timing was often not. Promising moves were brought to an abrupt halt by mistimed passes or miscommunication amongst a backline that is still developing as a combination. Look out when it starts to click.

Steve Larkham produced one of his best displays for the Wallabies in quite some time, and that is a promising sign as we head towards the Tri-Nations. He is evidently benefiting from the extra space created by Jones' strategies. Kefu also produced a blinder, as did Owen Finegan. But the clear winner for the 'most bang for your buck' award was Mat Rogers, who packed a lot of excitement into his ten minutes on the field. Let's hope he sees more time in the second test against the French.

And in the battle of the wings, Stirling Mortlock clearly outpointed Wendell Sailor, who was solid but unspectacular. Both players will be looking to have blinders this Saturday night, as Ben Tune's return to the Wallaby fold draws near. He will be on the right wing, that much is certain. Saturday's game should go a long way to telling us who will be on the left.

All the indicators are that this week's game will be more entertaining and more polished than last week's match. The crowd at Stadium Australia will be larger and will hopefully have more to make some noise about. The French will have some key players returning from injury and they should be over their jet lag. Meanwhile, the Wallabies will be looking to take a significant stride in their preparation for Rugby World Cup 2003.

- Dan Fowell