A masterful use of interchange by coach Liam Barry has spurred Australia on to upset Olympic gold medalists France 24-12 in the Perth SVNS quarter-finals.
The Aussies had only squeezed into the finals after a tense victory over the USA in the group stages.
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Their dream of back-to-back Perth Finals was in jeopardy when the French hit the front early in the second half.
However, Barry’s introduction of Ben Dowling and Maurice Longbottom proved the difference, scoring late for the victory.
The hosts were forced to work hard early as Jayden Blake pulled off a perfect try-saver on Stephen Parez-Edo Martin in the opening minute.
They eventually cracked when Celian Pouzelgues got the opener for France but were quick to react through Hayden Sargeant.
Sargeant was immense as he set up Matt Gonzalez at the break for a 10-5 lead for Australia.
France looked set to run away with the game when Joé Quere Karaba took advantage of a fatigued Australian side to put France back in France.
This is when the fresh legs proved critical.
It started with Dowling, with the former Waratah sneaking down the blindside and running under the posts to restore Australia’s lead.
With boundless energy, Longbottom was directing traffic and eventually sprinted through the hole with a minute left to seal the game.
"It's crazy after yesterday's close games coming up short," Longbottom said on the turnaround.
"We knew we weren't far away, we just had to dig a little bit deeper and fine-tune a few things and go from there.
"We were lucky enough to get some good results to bounce our way into tomorrow."
It sets up a rematch with South Africa in the semi-finals, who defeated Australia 10-7 in the group stages.
All three qualifiers from the ‘Group of Death’ remain alive in the semi-finals, with Argentina posted to face Spain in the other semi-final.
