Australia v France: international rugby union – live!

Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of the Wallabies v France, Australia’s first international of 2021. Kick-off at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium is 8pm.

It’s been an age since the draw-filled run of fixtures at the back end of last year, making this triple-header against France vital preparation for the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship, beginning in August.

So far that preparation has not been straightforward. Australia’s franchises were trounced in the Trans-Tasman portion of the Super Rugby season, and now Covid-related lockdowns have disrupted scheduling. Instead of a rare visit to the SCG, we’re returning at short notice to Queensland’s biggest rectangular stadium.

Injuries to the likes of playmakers James O’Connor and Nic White have further complicated this run of three games in just 11 days. Dave Rennie, coaching his second block of matches in charge of the Wallabies, is playing a straight bat. “The whole squad has been training really hard over the past three weeks to prepare for what’s going to be an exciting, tough series against the French,” Rennie said. “We’ve always selected a side based on earning the right to wear the jersey and this team is no different.”

Speaking of the jersey, Australia will be running out in one decidedly orangier than recent iterations.

Back in January the 1991 Rugby World Cup-winning jersey was chosen as the definitive shade of Wallabies gold and will now form the basis of international playing strips. “To have consistency in the colour of the gold jersey moving forward is a powerful statement,” Mark Brunton, Managing Director for ASICS Oceania, said, presumably with a straight face.

Tonight’s match finds Australia ranked seventh in the world, their joint-lowest in history, against fifth-ranked France. Les Bleues have been climbing steadily since they bottomed out at tenth in the world in 2019. That includes finishing second in the past two Six Nations Championships. Coach Fabien Galthié has won 11 of 15 matches in charge.

I’ll be back with line-ups and more shortly, and if you want to contribute anything to tonight’s blog, you can do so by sending me emails or tweets.