Last weekend, the Wallabies came unstuck by an Australian wearing white headgear and white and black shoes.
Now, another man wearing a brighter headgear and even quicker feet has the Wallabies in his sights.
The Wallabies have yet to play Louis Bielle-Biarrey, nor seen him travel Down Under to take on the All Blacks, but the Bordeaux flyer is the latest lean winger to rewrite the rule book.
Hitting the scales at 84kg, Bielle-Biarrey is no match for the modern-day hulking wingers, but the size he lacks he more than makes up for with his feet and work in the air.
The French winger, who became the youngest to play for Les Bleus at a World Cup when he ran out as a 20-year-old, was on Tuesday nominated alongside Springboks trio Ox Nche, Malcolm Marx and Pieter-Steph du Toit for World Rugby player of the year.
It’s easy to see why – and it’s not just the red headgear his father found for him at a second-hand shop when he was a nine-year-old.
Not only has Bielle-Biarrey crossed the white chalk on 18 occasions in 21 Tests, but the flying winger, who smashed records for his speed when he rose rapidly through the ranks as a 16-year-old, scored a competition record eight tries in five Six Nations matches.
Along the way, Bielle-Biarrey helped sink Ireland in Dublin to set up their Six Nations title.
Then he put away Scotland, with his footwork once again proving too hot to handle as he scored one and set up another with a lovely manipulation of the Scottish defence.
So prolific has Bielle-Biarrey been that Opta stats reveal the winger has the best try-scoring rate of any international player who has been on the field for more than 800 minutes since 2020.
Throw in the 21 tries from 22 matches for Bordeaux last season, and it’s clear no one has been able to stop the former playmaker.
And while he hasn’t scored in his past two fixtures, and picked up a yellow card for a deliberate knockdown during the second-half horror show against the Springboks, his opening 60 minutes against the world champions earlier this month gave the Wallabies a taste of what to expect.
Bielle-Biarrey made two linebreaks and won the ball back from two of the three kicks he competed for.
He first got one over Cheslin Kolbe, who ranks as one of the best in the air on the planet, in the 16th minute.
Then, in the 44th minute, he showed incredible pace, athletic ability and skill to squeeze between three Springbok defenders to take the ball.
Four minutes later, the left-winger found space out wide and almost burned the Springboks, before being pulled down by two defenders but not before pop-passing off the ground.
It’s that threat, as well as the freakish ability of Damian Penaud on the other wing, which is why France’s back three is arguably the most deadly on the planet.
And while neither player was mentioned by a single Wallaby during this week’s media press conferences, Joe Schmidt will have highlighted the pair, especially Bielle-Biarrey, and the threat they pose in the air.
If the Wallabies can shut down the winger’s impact on the game, the Wallabies will go a long way to finishing the year on a positive note.
Christy Doranhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2025/11/22/frances-winger-is-the-most-lethal-in-the-world-and-hes-the-no-1-threat-for-joe-schmidts-wallabies/France’s winger is the most lethal in the world – and he’s the No.1 threat for Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies
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