Player ratings: Close shave

Both teams had their periods of dominance in a thrilling encounter, but the Wallabies escape defeat when a late Jean-Marc Doussain drop-goal attempt just drifted wide of the uprights.

Despite all the changes he made, Australian coach Michael Cheika will be happy the side kept their unbeaten run intact.

Jan de Koning rates the Australian players!

15 Luke Morahan:

Made plenty of metres and had a couple of impressive breaks. Was dependable on defence.

6/10

14 Sefanaia Naivalu:

Did not see as much of the ball as he would have wanted and was exposed badly on defence.

4/10

13 Tevita Kuridrani:

Despite receiving lots of attention from the French defenders he still managed to make plenty of metres with ball in hand, scored a crucial try with some sublime skill  and missed just one tackle.

7/10

12 Kyle Godwin:

He was exceptional on defence, given the amount of traffic that was in his channel, and even had a couple of decent runs.

7/10

11 Henry Speight:

In the battle of the Fijians he wasn't the best, but did an admirable job.

6/10

10 Bernard Foley:

A late call-up and would not heave been mentally prepared. However, apart from a couple of missed tackles he had a good day at the office and ran the show well.

7/10

9 Will Genia:

Another scrumhalf masterclass - knowing when to pass, when to kick and had just enough snipes around the fringes to keep the defence honest.

7/10

8 Sean McMahon:

He was one of the primary ball carriers among the forwards and his defence wasn't too bad either.

6/10

7 David Pocock:

There may be a school of thought that he was allowed more leeway than most loose forwards get at the breakdown, but playing the referee and having an impact on the game is what it is all about.

9/10

6 Scott Fardy:

He did some good work on defence and had the occasional moment at the breakdown, but otherwise his workrate was not up to standard.

5/10

5 Rob Simmons:

Despite constantly running into a blue wall, he kept carrying the ball hard and willingly throughout the match. He also had the biggest tackle count in the match.

8/10

4 Kane Douglas:

His best work was on defence and it was that type of game when you have to be more productive in the close exchanges and contact areas.

6/10

3 Allan Alaalatoa:

His ball carrying wasn't the most effective, struggled in the scrums and missed a couple of tackles.

5/10

2 Silatolu Latu:

Had one decent run and worked hard on defence. He will get better.

6/10

1 James Slipper:

Had the kind of game he would rather forget - conceded three penalties, slipped tackles and made no impact with ball in hand.

4/10

Replacements:

16 Stephen Moore (on for Latu, 65th min):

Did not have the same impact as when he started - maybe lacked focus.

5/10

17 Scott Sio (on for Slipper, 64th min):

Solid in the scrums, but missed as many tackles as he made.

5/10

18 Tom Robertson (on for Alaalatoa, 71st min):

Not enough time to be rated.

19 Will Skelton (on for Douglas, 71st min):

Not enough time to be rated.

20 Dean Mumm (on for McMahon, 69th min):

Not enough time to be rated.

21 Nick Phipps (in for Genia, 78th min):

Not enough time to be rated.

22 Jono Lance:

Not used.

23 Taqele Naiyaravoro

Not used.

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