Five takeaways from France v Wales

Adam Kyriacou
Add as a preferred source on Google

Following a 24-19 win for Wales over France in their Six Nations clash, here’s our five takeaways from the fixture at the Stade de France.

France only have themselves to blame: Leading 16-0 at the break, how Les Bleus went on to lose this game is beggars belief. Yoann Huget’s error that saw George North go over followed by Sebastien Vahaamahina’s catastrophic pass for North’s second summed up how bad a few months it’s been for France. They performed impressively in the opening stanza but in the second-half the wheels came off as they lost a game they should have won. It doesn’t get any easier for Jacques Brunel’s side too as next week they head to Twickenham to face England.

Dan Biggar could well get the nod in Round Two: Yes, the conditions were not favourable for attacking rugby but that is when your general must alter his mindset and play accordingly. Camille Lopez and Morgan Parra did just that in the first-half while Anscombe struggled for dominance in the playmaking battle. While the early Welsh woes cannot be all pinned on the Cardiff Blues man, the arrival of Biggar at fly-half in the closing stages helped change the match. He grabbed matters by the scruff of the neck and may also have won back the number 10 shirt in the process.

Yoann, Yoann, Yoann: Clement Poitrenaud can sleep a little better tonight after his Heineken Cup final mishap way back in 2004. Huget meanwhile will be having nightmares. The France wing’s defensive slide saw the ball squirm free and North, who to his credit didn’t give up the chase, was the gleeful recipient for a try that pulled Wales right back into the match at 16-14 down on 53 minutes. What a moment.

Perfect 10 for confident Wales: That is now 10 international wins in a row for the Welsh and one has to believe that had they not been on this streak then maybe they would not have fought back to take this opening Six Nations game. Confidence is clearly high at the moment in Warren Gatland’s camp as they did not panic when 16-0 down and showed why they’re currently number three in World Rugby’s rankings.

Credit to both sides for the spectacle: With the heavens open in Paris, the conditions were awful for entertaining rugby. However, both the French and Welsh didn’t go into their shell and put on a show – France in the first and Wales in the second to be exact. Many might forget how well Les Bleus played in that opening 40 minutes as they mastered the weather to race into a 16-0 lead. Then came that outstanding response from Wales after the break in a game which wasn’t lacking in drama, giving the watching masses a gripping start to the tournament.

by Adam Kyriacou

Features