Star fly-half Matt Giteau believes Australia will know exactly where they stand following Saturday's one-off Test against France.

The Wallabies face a three-week wait before facing the Kiwis in Auckland, and Giteau concedes a convincing win over the French this weekend would deliver a major psychological boost heading into the Tri-Nations opener.

"I suppose it gives us a bit of a measuring stick ... letting us know how we're actually travelling into the Tri-Nations," he said.

Robbie Deans' men made relatively light work of their opening three hit-outs of the campaign, easily defeating the Barbarians before comfortably accounting for the Italians in Canberra and Melbourne.

Les Bleus, meanwhile, almost pulled of a rare clean sweep over the All Blacks in their two-match series across the Tasman.

Giteau added: "The guys are really looking forward to putting in a good performance and a solid win.

"I think it just reinforces that if we do play well and perform the way we want, that we're on the right track and we're heading the right way and where we need to be going into the Tri-Nations."

But the 67-Test veteran knows toppling the unpredictable visitors at ANZ Stadium will be no small task.

"That's the thing with the French, you're not sure what to expect, they've got the ability to play that tight aggressive style with the forwards and they've also got that flamboyance where they can throw the ball around and attack from anywhere," he said.

"The main thing that we need to be focused on is just the way we play, that's all we can control."