France v Australia | Saturday 22 November | Stade de France | 22:10
The soon to be outgoing Wallaby mentor has done a remarkable job with this group, but a heavy 2025 fixtures list has started to catch up with his players. They have looked out on their feet since touching down in Europe and the long season finally seems to be showing in their legs.
France offers a genuine opportunity for the Wallabies to finish the year with a win. Les Bleus have struggled without talisman Antoine Dupont. They went down 17 to 32 against South Africa despite having a man advantage and then followed that with a laboured 34 to 21 wins over Fiji who were level on points with them entering the final half hour.
Australia have also found results difficult to come by this November. They lost 26 to 19 against Italy and then suffered a heavy defeat in Dublin where Ireland put a record score on them in a 46 to 19 loss.
Looking ahead to this weekend’s fixture the Wallabies will need more from their big men up front while veteran fly half James O’Connor must take control if they are to pull off a shock win. Australia thrives when their forwards lay a platform and when O’Connor can guide the game with calm decision making.
For the hosts it is all about controlling the tempo. That has been a major challenge for them without their first choice nine and ten working together and it has shown in their inconsistency.
Verdict: Australia (+17.5) 9/10
Although they were poor last week, I expect the Aussies to raise their level. France have been unconvincing and the visitors should do enough to stay within the handicap.