Battle of the midfield: Australia v France

It was a fierce midfield battle today when reigning Six Nations champions France took on Australia in a 10 try thriller. Len Ikitau pairing with Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii for the Wallabies faced the French combo of Yoram Moefana and Fabien Brau-Boirie.

The first half was marshalled by the Australian pair, making great runs, keeping the ball alive with some stylish offloads in contact, and winning territory with those little kicks in behind when the French defensive line shot up.

Both Ikitau and Suaalii made 8 carries, with Joseph gaining 48 metres and Len gaining 42. Suaalii beat 3 defenders and made 3 offloads while his partner beat 2 defenders and made 2 offloads. Suaalii was the star performer between the two but his partner was not far behind him.

The game opened up in the second half and the French pair showed their class, more specifically, the inside centre Yoram Moefana. The 25-year-old was a big threat on attack. He ran some great lines, broke a couple of tackles, and kept the ball alive with a few offloads but lacked the finishing touch in the final third, either himself or his teammates. Moefana could’ve had either a hat-trick of tries or assists.

The French man was unstoppable carrying the ball 10 times and making the most metres in the game (92). They struggled to take him down too making 18 post contact metres, offloading twice, beating 4 defenders and breaking the line twice. He stood tall in defence too making 10 tackles and winning 1 turnover.

Moefana’s partner Fabien Brau-Boirie didn’t shine as much as the others, but he was still effective. He made 57 metres in 6 carries. He beat 2 defenders, made 1 clean break and 1 offload. He made 14 tackles, missing only 4.

It is safe to say Moefana's star performance won the midfiled battle for France.