Australia duly dispatched a severely weakened French team in Sydney, scoring four tries against one, showing signs of continual improvement under the fledgling coaching regime of Robbie Deans and offering their supporters more than a little hope for the forthcoming TriNations tournament, which begins for Australia a week after the second Test against France in Brisbane next week.

It was a patchy game, with Australia contributing solid periods of hard-driving rugby, although both sides often lapsed into incoherence. The horrendous state into which the International Rugby Board (IRB) have allowed the laws of the game and officiating to lapse was also evident with the French clearly bewildered by many of the interpretations of referee Marius Jonker and, in any case, in two weeks’ time Australia move on to play under some of the experimental laws anyway. Many people in the game could be forgiven if they admitted to hardly caring anymore at the IRB tomfoolery.

Australia tried to make ground by launching powerful runners such as Rocky Elsom, Stephen Moore and especially the vastly impressive Nathan Sharpe to draw in the French defenders, and then releasing the powerful Stirling Mortlock and company in midfield. It was occasionally impressive, with Mortlock, typically, bursting past defenders although a midfield featuring Mortlock, Berrick Barnes and Matt Giteau clearly needs work for it to bed down properly.

Another interesting Wallaby on show was Luke Burgess, making the inside running in the race to succeed George Gregan at scrum-half. Burgess was ebullient, powerful on the fringes and always involved, and he played a significant part in one of the Wallabies’ tries. However, his service left much to be desired because Giteau often had to stretch above his head or in front of him to take his passes, so it is clear that Burgess is a work in progress.

France have had to tour without any players from their top four clubs. They were further hampered yesterday by the predilection of Marc Lievremont to bring in callow youth. The likes of Fulgence Ouedraogo up front and Francois Trinh-Duc were underpowered taking the ball into contact and it was left to tough forwards such as Sebastien Chabal and Lionel Faure to marshal the French resistance.

Indeed, for the first and final quarter, France kept their defensive shape quite well and they came back to score the last try of the match to avoid any suggestion of a humiliating final score. But the truth is that they were abysmally lacking in any sort of attacking flair, most of their efforts were concentrated on attempts to drive over from close range, and this against an Australian team that defended well up front.

The tiring French still face embarrassment in Brisbane next week, with so few players of real quality to bring in, and indeed it could be that history will judge the most remarkable aspect of this game to be the fact that coach Lievremont brought on as replacement none other than his own brother, Matthieu, in the second half.

Australia did take some time to sort themselves out in attack, but they launched a barrage of sorties around the half-hour and again it was their big forwards who made the dents. One attack made considerable ground up the left and when the ball came back to be switched to the right Giteau found himself marked only by the gigantic Chabal and so was able to accelerate outside a despairing attempt at a tackle and run on to score under the posts. Giteau and Dimitri Yachvili had already kicked a penalty each and Giteau’s conversion of his own try took the score to 10-3.

Nearer to half-time, Australia struck again when Lionel Nallet, the French captain, lost control of the ball at a lineout. Burgess seized the loose ball and went steaming on into the depths of the French defence. Australia hammered on around the fringes, Al Baxter almost made it to the line, but eventually it was the gigantic figure of Sharpe who batted his way over.

Australia kept on coming and Barnes was held out inches short of the posts, but Australia were now in their most assured and fluid period of the match and a clever scissors move between Giteau and Elsom wrong-footed the French defence for the flanker to score and a conversion and penalty by Giteau put Australia well ahead at 27-6 deep into the second half.

It was predictable that the French would concede points simply by their desperation to make some kind of impact and it was no real surprise when Damien Traille, trying to keep a move alive with an inside pass, simply found Mortlock on the interception. In a move that brought back memories of his famous interception and try in the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup against New Zealand, Mortlock almost ambled to the posts and the match was then over as a contest, at 34-6.

To their credit, France did maintain their morale and their defence and they came strongly towards the end. They scored when they finally forsook their doomed attempts to batter over around the fringes, and the lightweight Alexis Palisson did extremely well to absorb a heavy tackle by Mortlock on the Australian line before stretching out to score. The conversion by Trinh-Duc made it a respectable 34-13.

The TriNations begins next week with South Africa and New Zealand meeting. Having seen all three teams in action, you would have to make South Africa favourites, followed by New Zealand and, close behind, Australia. For now, France have the problem of avoiding yet another disaster in what has been a humiliating southern hemisphere autumn for all the visiting European teams.

Scorers

Australia: Tries: Giteau 34, Sharpe 43, Elsom 45, Mortlock 62 Conversions: Giteau (4). Penalties: Giteau (2)

France: Try: Palisson 65. Conversion: Trinh-Duc. Penalties: Yachvili (2)

Teams: Australia: C Shepherd; P Hynes, S Mortlock (capt), B Barnes (R Cross 58min), L Tuqiri (A Ashley-Cooper 29min); M Giteau, L Burgess (S Cordingley 70min); B Robinson (B Alexander 60min), S Moore (A Freier 70min), A Baxter, J Horwill, N Sharpe, R Elsom, W Palu (P Waugh 41min), G Smith (D Mumm 64min)

France: P Elhorga (D Janin 22min); A Palisson, F Trinh-Duc, D Traille, B Thiéry; B Boyet (T Lacroix 59min), D Yachvili (S Tillous-Borde 63min); L Faure (R Boyoud 49min), S Bruno (B Kayser 49min), B Lecouls, S Chabal, L Nallet (D Couzinet 71min), F Ouedraogo, L Picamoles (M Lievremont 60min), I Harinordoquy.