Wallabies overpower Les Bleus

A dominant second-half performance has seen the Wallabies overcome France 34-13 in a scrappy encounter in front of 48,899 fans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

Two tries in five minutes early in the second stanza gave the Wallabies the necessary breathing space having held a narrow half-time lead.

And when Stirling Mortlock crossed against the run of play 18 minutes out from full-time the Wallabies had all but secured their second victory under new coach Robbie Deans.

The under-strength French provided spirited resistance throughout and looked to attack at every turn but found the stubborn Wallabies defence too great an obstacle for much of the match.

The Wallabies failed to convert their first scoring opportunity of the match when Matt Giteau pushed a very kickable penalty attempt wide of the uprights in the fourth minute.

France showed its attacking intentions from the outset when debutant Alexis Palisson had a promising first touch to stretch the hosts' defence, but it was the Australians who enjoyed the early weight of possession and territory.

Giteau made up for his early miss landing a penalty kick from close range to put the Wallabies 3-0 up at the midway point of the first half.

The visitors levelled the scores minutes later when Rocky Elsom and Wycliff Palu were penalised for not rolling away after burying fullback Pepito Elhorga into the turf in a bone-jarring tackle.

Dimitri Yachvili made no mistake from long-range but Elhorga's night came to an abrupt end after injuring his shoulder in the heavy hit.

The Wallabies were dealt their own injury blow when star wing Lote Tuqiri departed in the 29th minute with a jarred knee.

After an uninspired opening half-hour the Wallabies began to make inroads as Elsom, Mortlock and then Peter Hynes all made promising runs.

The dam finally burst four minutes out from the break when Giteau slid across field and through some tired French defence for a 10-3 lead.

Cameron Shepherd's decision not to send the ball into touch after the siren had sounded proved costly when the visitors were awarded a penalty to cut the deficit to four points.

Whatever Robbie Deans said to the Wallabies at the interval paid dividends when lock Nathan Sharpe burrowed over from close range follow some nifty lead-up work from scrumhalf Luke Burgess.

Giteau made no mistake to extend the hosts' advantage to 17-6 three minutes into the second half.

And when Rocky Elsom strolled through some shell-shocked French defence the Wallabies led 24-6 with 33 minutes still to play.

Typically, Les Bleus continued to attack only to be denied by some spirited Australian defence.

An intercept try to skipper Mortlock in the 62nd minute erased all hope of an unlikely French comeback as the hosts moved 34-6 ahead.

The tourists' first try came from an unlikely source when outspoken rookie Palisson delivered on his midweek trash talk to cross in heavy traffic.

Francois Trinh-Duc added the extras but it was to prove too little too late for France.

Australia 34
Tries: Giteau, Sharpe, Elsom, Mortlock
Cons: Giteau 4
Pens: Giteau 2

France 13
Tries: Palisson
Con: Trinh-Duc
Pens: Yachvili 2

Crowd: 48,899