Australian U21s lose World Cup Semi to France

France has defeated Australia 32-17 at the 2006 IRB Under 21 World Championship overnight, a vocal home crowd spurring on the hosts to a hat-trick of second half tries to win the match at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand.

A strong performance by Australia in the first half put them ahead 17-12 at the break, but pressure in the second half from a French team lifted by the vocal crowd and a lack of quality ball was ultimately Australia’s undoing.

Australian scrumhalf Josh Holmes scored the first points for the match, posting a try in the opening minute, to which France responded quickly with a try of their own to winger Florian Denos, who scored off an Australian chargedown.

Thirteen minutes later France scored again in similar circumstances, tighthead prop Yohan Montes crossing to edge his team ahead, 12-7.

However Australia hit back, first through the boot of Liam Bibo, then with a converted try to hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau minutes before the half-time whistle.

In the second half it was all France, both on and off the field, with the crowd lifting the home team to dominate both field and ball possession and at the set piece.

The French forward pack also stepped up a gear, putting the pressure on up front and dominating the scrum.

The result was three second-half tries to France, winger Florian Denos scoring his second for the match and replacement Yann Fior coming off the bench to also score a double.

Australian coach Chris Hickey said while his team was disappointed, there were plenty of positives to take out of the tournament.

“It's always tough to lose and, naturally, the players are disappointed, but the tournament’s not over – there’s still one match to go and you can bet New Zealand will get up for that game, and we have to too,” Hickey said.

“I was pretty happy with the way the boys played in the first half and they (France) had a bit of luck with their first two tries.”

“In the second half, to France’s credit, they were able to put a lot of pressure on us, particularly at the set piece, which didn’t leave us with a lot of quality ball.”

“It’s easy to be disappointed but the boys can be proud of the way they played during the tournament. They performed credibly throughout the Pool matches and we were able to finish second in our Pool, on equal points with South Africa – these are the positives we will reflect on.”

The win propels France into their first Under 21 World Championship Final, where they will face defending champions South Africa, while Australia meets New Zealand in the 3rd/4th Play Off this Sunday, June 25 at 4:00pm (local time) at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand.

France 32 [Florian Denos 2, Yian Fior 2, Yohan Montes tries, Lionel Beauxis 2 cons, pen] defeated Australia 17 [Josh Holmes, Tatafu Polota-Nau tries, Liam Bibo 2 cons, pen]. Half Time: Australia 17-12.

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