Tough Wallabies lock James Horwill won't carry any memories of the gruesome injury inflicted upon him by France into Saturday's Test in Sydney, but expects another ferocious forward encounter.

The rugged Queensland lock suffered a nasty-looking injury in the second Test against France in Brisbane last July after taking blows from two opposing forwards.

He missed Australia's next clash with Les Bleus in France later in the year through injury, but is expected to be named in the starting pack for Saturday's one-off match at ANZ Stadium.

The two Frenchmen who were each suspended for three weeks after punching Horwill, No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy and prop Renaud Boyoud, are not on the current tour.

A philosophical Horwill laughed off the incident and said he wasn't bothered about it and stressed he wasn't taking any memory of it into Saturday's game.

"It was something that happens in rugby, I ended up with a pretty good shiner but that's just part and parcel," Horwill said on Monday.

"You roll with the punches I guess.

"I don't think my mum was too happy with the photo, she didn't keep that one," Horwill joked.

He expected a different looking French team to the one that toured Australia last year to present a considerable physical challenge following their tied series against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

"I think it's a just a mindset that they go out there and really want to physically assert themselves and we've got to make sure we do the same," Horwill said.

"I think you've got to make sure you're up for the challenge. I know that they will be challenging us at the breakdown and around the park.

"We've got to make sure we get on the front foot and we don't wait for things to happen, we get out there and really take the forward step."

He said Australia were definitely prepared and ready for the expected increase in physical intensity following their two-Test whitewash of Italy.

"We've got some guys that will mix it with them and we've got to make sure we step up to the mark and we physically assert ourselves across the park," Horwill said.

Renowned for being something of an enforcer, Horwill was looking forward to another abrasive showdown with the French.

"I always enjoy every game against a physical side like the French," Horwill said.

"You get to test yourself against a very good forward pack that you don't play that often."

He said the French back row had played particularly well against New Zealand who he described as "very physical at the breakdown".

"They like to maul a lot, they've got a very good scrum. Across the park they've got some very big guys that like to carry the ball forward and they've got guys that are very hard on the ball."

The big second-rower acknowledged Australia's lineout needed to improve upon their performance in the second Test against Italy.

"We let ourselves down a bit with a couple of skill execution errors and a couple of knowledge issues, but we will work on that this week and I know we will have a very good lineout moving forward," Horwill said.

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