Lebanon produce historic victory against France

Lebanon defeated France 29-18 at Canberra Stadium to effectively qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2017 World Cup.

Head coach Brad Fittler used playmaker Mitchell Moses to perfection as he controlled the game against a France side who will now need to beat either Australia or England to have any chance of going through.

Moses proved his qualities in the final six minutes with the game at 18-18, as he scored and set up winger Travis Robinson for the historic win.

The Cedars opened the scoring when full-back Anthony Layoun went over but France hit back through Bastien Ader’s four-pointer.

Lebanon went back in front on the stroke of half-time when Canterbury Bulldogs’ hooker Michael Lichaa put Robinson away to give the Cedars a 12-6 lead going into half-time.

France took control after the restart when Lebanon failed to deal with a kick to the corner and the ball was batted back for Ader to score his second try.

They were unable to build on this and late Lebanon inclusion Adam Doueihi jumped highest to take a Moses kick and score under the posts.

France were a determined outfit and centre Damien Cardace finished off an overlap down the left, with William Barthau converting to the delight of the French crowd.

But it wasn’t France’s day as Moses scored his try, set up Robinson and kicked a drop goal in a frantic final six minutes to seal the historic win for Lebanon.

Picture: Getty Images