Preview: Wales v France

The question is, can France win the Grand Slam? A visit to Cardiff on Friday is step three of Les Bleus' quest for Six Nations glory.

The whispers have already started. Can France win the Grand Slam? A visit to Cardiff on Friday is step three of Les Bleus' quest for Six Nations glory.

No need to tell us, we agree, it's early days yet. France are not even half way to the biggest prize in northern hemisphere rugby but you can't help thinking that the Tricolors have all the arms necessary to go all the way.

France are making a habit of beating defending Grand Slams champions – they did it to Wales last year, and they did it to Ireland two weeks ago – so the next logical step is to seal a Grand Chelem of their own.

Warren Gatland started the verbal this week, saying the Les Bleus were a great team on their day, but have yet to show consistency needed to be a world force.

Wales' Kiwi boss is never short on a bit of hot air, but this time he's totally right.

In the last eight months France have beaten the world's number-one ranked team, the world champions and the Grand Slam champions but have yet to string three consecutive wins together since Marc Lièvremont took over two years ago.

But if ever an opportunity presented itself for this team to show that's it's matured into the force that we all saw lying in wait, this it.

While France are clearly on an upward curve, Wales seem to be slipping the opposite way.

It might be an over simplification of things, but in retrospect France's victory over Wales at the Stade de France last year seems to correspond to the tipping point that started their opposing trajectories.

Mathieu Bastareaud made his Test debut in that game exactly one year ago (we don't need to remind you of how much water has flowed under that bridge). It says a lot for the stability of the team that he's been able to return and make the impact he has.

By contrast you'd be hard pressed to find anything in Wales' somewhat fortunate victory over Scotland to suggests that they are championship material.

The foundations of solid unit that was unstoppable in 2008 are full of cracks as Gatland grapples with the Red Dragons' lack of real depth.

If Gatland's honeymoon period ended when Ireland won the 2009 Six Nations, the marriage is now taking strain. It doesn't help that the kids are now acting up. Yes, that means you Andy Powell.

There aren't too many fresh ideas in the red jerseys and confidence is clearly stretched.

All is not lost for the hosts however, who will draw on memories of the last time France visited the Millennium Stadium, when the home side clinched their 2008 Grand Slam in the final game of the tournament.

France have also had to deal with a string a injuries. The replacements haven't weakened the side per se, but their preparations have certainly been disrupted.

While on pure form Castres winger Marc Andreu probably deserves his call up to the bench, the fact that Lièvremont has overlooked the likes of Cédric Heymans and Maxime Médard means the link between inconsistent results and constant changes to the team is once again brought to the fore.

The long and short of it is: if France play the way they did for 60 minutes against Ireland and Wales play the way they did for 70 minutes against Scotland, there can be only one result.

Of course, a game of rugby is 80 minutes long … and it only takes one second to turn it on its head.

Players to watch:

For Wales: Once Wales' fourth choice at scrum-half, Richie Rees has a chance to shine in the starting XV. But all does not bode well for the Cardiff Blues number nine. Gatland's decision to recall Mike Phillips after only 40 minutes of rugby in four months will have Rees looking over his shoulder. But the longer he can produce the goods, the longer he'll keep his rival on the woodwork.

For France: Julien Bonnaire will win his 50th cap for France on Friday, but has a point to prove. With France's current crop of outstanding loose forwards, the Clermont veteran has been forced to play second fiddle to youngsters like Fulgence Ouedraogo and Louis Picamoles. With Ouedraogo out injured and the French selectors for once preferring Bonnaire's dynamism to Picamoles' power, the 31-year-old has a rare chance to stake a claim on a starting berth.

Head-to-heads: James Hook was on the Wales bench in Paris last year and has found his way into the starting team – via full-back – to be Bastareaud's opposite number on Friday. It's classic clash of opposing styles – the footballer's footballer versus the human wrecking ball. It should be fun to watch. Just outside them, keep an eye on the battle between two young wings, Leigh Halfpenny (21) and Alexis Palisson (22). Further forward, Bradley Davies could be in for tough evening in the second row. Seven days after the death of his mother, Davies makes his first Six Nations start against a very experienced campaigner, former Bleus skipper Lionel Nallet.

Previous results:

2009: France won 21-16 at Stade de France
2008: Wales won 29-12 at Millennium Stadium
2007: France won 34-7 at Millennium Stadium
2007: France won 32-21 at Stade de France
2006: France won 21-16 at Millennium Stadium
2005: Wales won 24-18 at Stade de France
2004: France won 29-22 at Millennium Stadium
2003: France won 33-5 at Stade de France
2002: France won 37-33 at Millennium Stadium
2001: Wales won 35-43 at Stade de France
2000: France won 36-3 at Millennium Stadium

Prediction: Wales will have to come up with something special if they are to revive their hopes of Six Nations success. France to win by six or seven points.

The teams:

Wales:15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 James Hook, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Ryan Jones(c), 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Deiniol Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:16 Ken Owens, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Sam Warburton, 20 Mike Phillips, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom Shanklin.

France:15 Clement Poitrenaud, 14 Julien Malzieu, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Alexandre Lapandry, 19 Sébastien Chabal, 20 Frederic Michalak, 21 David Marty, 22 Marc Andreu.

Date: Friday, 26 February
Venue: Millenium Stadium, Cardiff
Kick-off: 20.00 GMT
Weather: It'll be chilly, but who cares? The roof will be closed.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Alan Lewis (Ireland), Simon