Rugby-Tupou starts for the Wallabies in second France test

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia coach Dave Rennie made only one minor tweak to his team on Sunday for this week's second test against France, keeping faith with the line-up that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the series opener.

Taniela Tupou moved up from the bench to replace Allan Alaalatoa at tighthead prop after causing the French all sorts of problems as a replacement in the 23-21 victory in Brisbane on Wednesday.

"Taniela made a real impact on both sides of the ball when he came on at (Lang Park) and we'll be looking for him to do the same from the get-go in Melbourne," Rennie said in a statement.

Otherwise, Rennie has decided not to tinker with his team for Tuesday's second of three tests against a French touring party missing many of its regular starters.

Alaalatoa was dropped to the bench for the match at Melbourne's Rectangular Stadium as Rennie named the same matchday 23 for successive tests for the first time since he took over as coach last year.

Noah Lolesio will make his third start at flyhalf after kicking the last-gasp penalty that secured Australia a victory they barely deserved on the back of a patchy performance in Brisbane.

"We've worked hard and we're well-conditioned," Rennie added.

"A lack of accuracy in Brisbane denied us the opportunity to make the most of that, but we showed plenty of character to stay in the fight until the final whistle."We need to start fast, be more clinical and turn pressure into points ... on Tuesday night."

Australia team: 15-Tom Banks, 14-Tom Wright, 13-Hunter Paisami, 12-Matt To’omua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Noah Lolesio, 9-Jake Gordon, 8-Harry Wilson, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Rob Valetini, 5-Matt Philip, 4-Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 3-Taniela Tupou, 2-Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1-James Slipper.

Replacements: 16-Lachlan Lonergan, 17-Angus Bell, 18-Allan Alaalatoa, 19-Darcy Swain, 20-Isi Naisarani, 21-Tate McDermott, 22-Len Ikitau, 23-Andrew Kellaway.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by William Mallard)