Australia might "blow hot and cold" but they cannot be taken lightly, France coach Fabien Galthie says with both teams desperate to bounce back from gut-wrenching defeats when they meet in the Nations Championship on Saturday.

France underscored their status as the World Cup's team to beat on Thursday, overpowering African champions Morocco with a clinical 2-0 win to book their third consecutive semi-finals appearance.

The Russian athletics federation announced Thursday that it will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge World Athletics (WA) for extending the blanket ban on its track and field athletes.

France take on Morocco on Thursday in a blockbuster World Cup quarter-final showdown as the largest and most logistically complex edition of the footballing showpiece ever staged enters the home straight.

Japan kept university student fly-half Ryunosuke Ito in their starting line-up named Thursday to face Ireland in the Nations Championship, as head coach Eddie Jones returns from suspension.