How the French recovered from an early stumble to surprise Australia.
August 12, 2025 by Manny Eckert in Analysis, Recap
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Following the first three points of the game, Australia would find themselves up 3-0 after France blew two easy resets near the end zone following completed hucks. But these plays turned out to be indicative not of France’s inability to complete easy passes, but rather their aptitude for completing hard ones, as they showcased their array of blades and edgy hucks to punish Australia’s poachy, switchy, containment-based defense and take the game 13-9.
Similar Schemes
There were similarities in offensive styles for the two teams, as both operated primarily by setting up their cutters deep downfield in order to give ample time and space for their handlers to initiate the play. Often, as we can see at the beginning of these possessions — first for France and then for Australia — the cutters would not even be visible on screen before filtering into the backfield opportunistically.
Australia tended to operate through Alex Prentice, Alex Gan, and Jonathan Keys in the backfield, with Rob Andrews and Cat Phillips often lingering there after catching unders. For France, Gaël Ancelin and Paul Benvegnen tended to play the point guard role, with Elliot Bonnet and Chloé Vallet being popular connecting pieces. The primary differences came in what continuations they were looking for: Australia thrived when they were able to find a high tempo of play, finding quick options downfield, whereas France generally focused on maintaining possession until an over-the-top or huck look opened up.
Australia Makes It Look Easy
Early on in the game, Australia looked unguardable. In this possession, they work the disc the full length of the field without ever needing to hit any difficult throws by aggressively cycling their handlers in and out of the backfield, creating easy looks on both the open and the break side.
By contrast, on France’s first offensive point, after a stellar pull from Sam McGuckin, they struggle to find the same type of quick movement, alternating between yardage-gainers and negative resets until Benvegnen launches a huck to Léo Stanguennec – who makes an impressive catch but then turns over a reset on a miscue.
Again, we get another possession from France that feels stagnant, with few instances of consecutive yardage-gaining passes – until we see Chloé Vallet punish an Australian flash attempt with a ~25 yard around forehand break. This perhaps marked a turning point for the French offense as they realized they could generally maintain possession until Australia would inevitably blow a switch or a poach downfield and a high-reward option would present itself.
French Pressure Reaches Tipping Point
On the defensive side for France, the fifth point of the game started off like the others for Australia, with high-octane handler movement. But this time, Camille Blanc wasn’t about to let Cat Phillips catch an uncontested under, and she made an explosive layout block.
After this point, France would elevate their defensive pressure to a new level for the rest of the game, as we can see at 5-5 with this near block, and then this closing athleticism from Stanguennec. After France eventually punched in this break, and then another one afterwards, Australia would never come close to regaining the lead.
In the second half, Australia appeared mentally and physically fatigued. If they weren’t able to move the disc quickly with ease, they tended to attempt more difficult throws, which were heavily contested by the athletic French defenders. France also attempted difficult throws; they simply completed more of them. It remains to be seen if that is sustainable for France against a team that can match their athleticism, and if Australia is able to grind out possessions when their plan A isn’t working.
