Giant Will Skelton made a big impact on debut as the Wallabies won their seventh straight match 39-13 to sweep their three-Test series against France in Sydney on Saturday.
Skelton — all six feet eight inches (203 centimetres) and 140 kilograms (308 pounds) of him — scored a try and laid on one for Israel Folau with a deft pass as the Wallabies cleaned up Les Bleus five tries to one.
The towering 22-year-old lock received a standing ovation from the 43,000 home crowd as he was replaced by James Horwill midway through the second half.
“He had a significant influence in a game against a tier one country in his first game,” Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie said.
“You can’t do much more than that, play one Test, score one try and set another one up, that was pretty good.”
The Wallabies were always in command and played with more verve and tempo from the kick-off after last week’s stodgy 6-0 win in Melbourne to clinch the series after winning 50-23 in Brisbane.
It was the first time since 2000 that the Wallabies have won seven consecutive Tests, while France are still searching for their first win in Australia since 1990.
“I was pretty happy with the intent across the game. I don’t think we confused anyone with what we were trying to do,” McKenzie said.
“In the end it was just down to the execution and the French defence.”
Captain Thierry Dusautoir, who led Les Bleus for a record 49th time, also joined in the praise for Skelton.
“It was his first cap but he played very well. I think he is going to stay in the Wallabies team for a long time,” Dusautoir said.
– France hope for revenge in Paris –
French coach Philippe Saint-Andre said he more disappointed about losing last week’s second Test after having more chances in Melbourne to beat the Wallabies.
“There was more activity, more urgency, more skill in the Australian team today than in our team,” he said.
“Congratulations to them. It was the end of a long season for our players and when we play our game against the Wallabies in Paris in November they will see a completely different French team.”
While Skelton dominated the post-match talk, Folau’s brace took his tally to 13 tries in 18 Tests and fly-half Bernard Foley kicked four conversions and two penalties.
The Wallabies showed their attacking intent from the outset and dominated possession and territory.
Foley kicked a third-minute penalty before Skelton monstered his way through Fulgence Ouedraogo’s tackle to score a try on debut five minutes later.
Les Bleus got their first points off a Brice Dulin long-range penalty after a powerful French scrum shunt to trail 10-3 after 15 minutes.
Quick thinking by skipper Michael Hooper from the kick-off forced France to concede a penalty for Foley to retrieve a 10-point advantage.
The French went a man down when tighthead prop Rabah Slimani received a yellow card for tackling Hooper without the ball as the Wallabies went on the attack.
A quick tap kick from scrum-half Nic White led to Folau scoring in the corner in Dulin’s tackle.
Maxime Machenaud, who replaced regular scrum-half Morgan Parra (ankle injury) before the match, kicked a penalty for the French to trail 20-6 at half-time.
Skelton demonstrated his great hands for such a big man to deliver a defence-splitting pass for Folau to race away and score his second try two minutes after the resumption for a commanding 27-6 lead.
France lost left winger Hugo Bonneval with a left knee injury as the Australians cranked up a gear.
Foley and replacement Kurtley Beale combined to send Hooper racing away to score his team’s fourth try midway through the second half.
The French claimed their only try by hooker Guilhem Guirado from a push-over scrum 15 minutes from fulltime.
Replacement scrum-half Nick Phipps pounced for the Wallabies’ fifth try off a quick tap penalty in the final minutes to round off a handsome victory.