Australia suffered a 29-26 defeat by France in Aix-en-Provence after surrendering a 19-point lead in a chaotic contest that was briefly halted when a spectator shuttle bus caught fire behind the stadium.
The Wallaroos had France reduced to 11 players during the first half, with Cloe Correa shown a permanent red card for making contact with an Australian player’s eyes. Three other French players were sent to the sin bin for dangerous tackles, with one of those sanctions upgraded to a 20-minute red card.
Australia exploited the numerical advantage to score twice more after opening the scoring, moving 19-0 ahead after 30 minutes. But France rallied when its players began returning to the field and crossed twice before half-time.
The match resumed seven minutes late after the shuttle bus burst into flames directly behind one of the main stands at Stade Maurice David. Thick black smoke drifted across the ground, while an Australian supporter said the bus’s exploding tyres had shaken the stadium.
Australia restored its momentum after the restart, with Piper Duck scoring in the 50th minute to put the Wallaroos 14 points ahead. France, now back to 14 players, responded in front of a boisterous home crowd and scored the final two tries.
The decisive score came in the 75th minute, completing a remarkable comeback and leaving Australia to reflect on a missed opportunity after holding several numerical advantages.
Tim Walsh, Australia’s interim coach, said his side had failed to control the closing stages despite putting itself in position to win.
“We put ourselves in a position to take out a win and we didn’t execute. But the positive is that we put ourselves in the position to win, but we’re disappointed and particularly on half-time, you know, when the French scored with 13 players,” Walsh said.
He added: “Like, that’s unacceptable. And that’s probably where the game might have been at its momentum shifting. And then, obviously, half-time, I don’t know whether you guys planned to bomb the bus, but it certainly had everything.”
The defeat followed a spirited performance against world number one England and, according to Walsh, underlined both the Wallaroos’ potential and their lack of experience in managing matches.
“The game had everything, didn’t it? It had a fantastic crowd, two fantastic teams, some running rugby, some discipline, some fireworks, and then some fire. So, yeah, it was an entertaining game,” he said.
Australia will face Scotland next weekend. Walsh said the team was not short of talent, but needed more experience to improve its decision-making and game management.
“If you compare how many matches a year the Wallaroos play to the French [players], it’s probably half, not from a Test match, just normal rugby,” he said.
“So our ability to manage games, to upskill, to be fit, is where we’re lacking. We’re not lacking the talent.”
