Jono Lance suffered a suspected broken arm while NRL convert Marika Koroibete made an instant impact in his rugby return as a Wallaby XV went down 19-11 to the French Barbarians in a scrappy affair in Bordeaux.

In his first senior rugby match – his first since high school – Koroibete set up the Wallabies’ only try on Thursday night with his first touch of the ball, throwing a third-minute cut-out pass to former Wallabies captain Ben Mowen who crossed in the corner.

Koroibete struggled to get involved in the remaining 77 minutes, however, as the contest was dominated by the opposing forward packs at a sodden Stade Chaban-Delmas where the turf was severely chopped up after each scrum.

The Australians trailed by a point – courtesy of four penalty goals to the Barbarians – with three minutes remaining before French No.8 Camille Gerondeau scored the match-sealer under the posts after finishing off a brilliant team try.

Australia’s cause was made harder when luckless five-eighth Lance left the field after six minutes clutching his left forearm.

The Australian outfit was well served by impressive playmaker Kyle Godwin, who made his Wallabies debut against France last weekend, and regularly beat the first defender after taking on additional responsibility following Lance’s injury.

The first half was predominantly a forwards battle, with the two packs clashing fiercely in the scrums, giving little chance for either backline to sparkle.

With Lance off, halfback Nick Frisby stepped up to kick a penalty and hand the Wallabies an 8-0 advantage after 10 minutes before the home side began to assert their dominance.

Hooker Nathan Charles was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on a tearaway French halfback Yann Lesgourgues – but the BaaBaas were only able to claw back a penalty kick during his stint off the field.

The Australian outfit spurned penalty goal chances before halftime – and throughout the second half – as they pushed for a second try, much to the delight of the 30,028-strong crowd.

But it was the accurate kicking of BaaBaas substitute Julien Dumora which allowed the home side to grab the lead with 11 minutes to go before Gerondeau’s late try put the contest to bed.