Will Skelton was eligible for the All Blacks before kick-off against France; by full-time, he had shown why he's one of the biggest threats to New Zealand's Bledisloe Cup reign.

With the remote chance of New Zealand-born Skelton turning out for the All Blacks having been extinguished, the news got even better for the Wallabies when his inspired debut suggested he was ready to step up and take on the biggest hoodoo in rugby.

Skelton scored the first try of the game, carrying French tacklers across the line, but he produced his breakthrough moment shortly after half-time when he found Israel Folau with a short-ball that would have made a five-eighth blush.

"When Izzy calls for the ball you give it to him," Skelton said. "We're a pretty close-knit team at the Tahs, and those little combinations help when you're out there."

Folau saluted the crowd as he swan-dived over the tryline,and Skelton lay on the ground 25 metres out laughing, befitting the confidence of a man who had barged through two defenders to score with just his third touch and who celebrated the try by shooting his fingers into the air like a cowboy or - if you're a wrestling fan - WWE favourite Daniel Bryan.

"I don't even know his name," Skelton said. "I just saw him on a video and the boys just get behind it and it's good fun."

Will Skelton runs through Thierry Dusautoir © Getty Images

Enlarge

A bulldozing clean-out that shook the earth was another highlight, but, for Skelton, the best moment of a memorable debut was his first carry.

"That's always an indicator of how the game's going to go," he said. "It was really humbling and I was just really happy to play for my country."

Most importantly, the 140kg second-rower handled the tempo of a Test match before he left in the 57th minute to a standing ovation from the biggest rugby crowd ever at Allianz Stadium.

Australia's 39-13 win over France was confidence-building heading into the first Bledisloe Test on August 16, but optimism was tempered somewhat when the All Blacks later produced their own five-tries-to-one victory, over England.

The world's No.1 side will be vying for a world-record 18th consecutive Test win when they face the Wallabies in Sydney, but Skelton has emerged as the wildcard for Ewen McKenzie.

"One thing that Ewen said before the game was that ... the first cap is a very special moment, but if you don't get picked for the next game I guess there was no point in really going out there," Skelton said.

Win a fantastic trip abroad to Wimbledon 2015 in London, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in 2015, or a leg of your choice on the 2014-2015 HSBC Sevens World Series.

Simply upload a picture of yourself to Instagram supporting the Wallabies, mention @australianrugbyunion and use #GoWallabies

Go to http://www.hsbc.com.au/1/2/wallabiescompetition for more details.

(NB: The competition is open only to residents of Australian States and Territories)