Bus fire, eye gouge tarnish wild Wallaroos clash
On one of the most chaotic days in test rugby history, the Wallaroos have somehow managed to blow a 14-point lead against a heavily depleted French side on Sunday AEST.
The 29-26 game to France was marred by an eye-gouging red card, a blazing bus outside the stadium and a staggering seven-card count.
Smoke outside the stadium caused a delay during half time. David Ramos
The world No.4 hosts were reduced to just 11 players at one stage during a truly bizarre first half at the Stade Maurice David in Aix-en-Provence.
It headlined a frantic 20-minute period in the early moments where the hosts were slapped with four cards for Ambre Mwayembe - which was upgraded to a 20-minute red - Lea Champon and Lea Murie all binned for high tackles.
The on-field madness peaked when French forward Cloe Correa was handed a straight red card for eye-gouging in a maul.
But if the on-field drama wasn't enough, the second half was then delayed by an inferno outside the stadium walls.
A bus caught fire adjacent to the ground, sending thick black smoke billowing across the pitch before emergency crews could extinguish the blaze.
When the smoke cleared, it was the Australians who imploded.
Despite the off-field distractions and holding a massive advantage, the Wallaroos were left wondering how they let the hosts off the hook.
Leading 26-12 in the second half, Australia failed to put the nail in the coffin, allowing a resilient France to have 17 unanswered points in the final 25 minutes to pull off an unbelievable victory.
Australia didn't help their own cause during the late collapse, with Michaela Leonard sent to the bin in the second half to complete the match's seven-card chaos.
Wallaroos coach Tim Walsh was left with bitter disappointment after his side failed to capitalise on the unprecedented carnage.
"We put ourselves in a position to win and we didn't execute," he said.
“The positive is we put ourselves in position to win, but we are disappointed.
“Particularly on halftime when the French scored with 13 players - that is unacceptable and that’s probably where momentum shifted.”
Tries from Britanny Merlo, Tania Naden, Caitlyn Halse and Piper Duck weren’t enough for Australia to secure a win following last week’s comprehensive defeat to England.
The Wallaroos will get their chance to bounce back when they face Scotland in Edinburgh next week.
