Key occasions
62 minutes. From the scrum 5, Wales run on the French deal with line, however the residence arise effectively earlier than Tupuric outruns his personal assist a bit of along with his carry and is pinged for not releasing.
Faletau leaves the sector for Tommy Reffell.
59 minutes. The first rate little interval for Wales continues as they play out of their very own 22 through a jinking run from Rees Zammit. The ball comes again to the left through Faletau earlier than Biggar places a very good kick up that North can compete for and win.
Tomos Williams tickles a kick behind Dumortier who’s in all kinds of bother and might solely carry it over his personal line to be tackled by Adams.
TRY! France 34 – 14 Wales (Bradley Roberts)
56 minutes. France, clearly a bit of excessive on their very own provide, have Ramos making an attempt to run from his personal in-goal, getting remoted and permitting Tipuric to nick it. Wales fling the ball to the precise and Roberts drives via the blue scramble defence to attain.
Biggar slots the extras.
53 minutes. Faletau has a robust run from the bottom of the scrum, and it’s symptomatic of Wales’s points that as he appeared for who was on his shoulder after making 15 metres he discovered precisely no-one. The ball in recycled nonetheless, and it’s labored proper and into the French half earlier than the ball goes to floor.
Tomos Wiliams is on for Rhys Webb
51 minutes. Reda Wardi and Peato Mauvaka substitute Cyril Baille and Julien Marchand for France.
What we’ve realized is that by scoring first Wales merely angered France and they’re now 27 factors behind with half and hour left. This might get uglier than a Toyota.
TRY! France 34 – 7 Wales (Gael Fickou)
48 minutes. Wales practically have the ball from a spill within the French 22, however Ntamack covers it then units a counter assault going through Ramos dummying and stepping inside Tompkins. He’s this near being free and clear, however Tompkins to his credit score spins round and manages to one way or the other grip him.
Not that’s issues, as a couple of phases later, Ntamack once more – all languid drifting throughout the road – pops to Fickou on a beautiful angle into open house to attain regardless of a determined try to cowl by Adams.
Ramos inevitably converts.
45 minutes. Warren Gatland decides it’s time to alter issues up from the bench.
Dafydd Jenkins, Gareth Thomas, Bradley Roberts come on, changing Alun Wyn Jones, Wyn Jones and Ken Owens.
TRY! France 27 – 7 Wales (Uini Atonio)
44 minutes. Dupont opts for the scrum from the penalty within the 22. They run a couple of phases from the scrum, then work it left to Atonio who is 2 metres out with solely Rees Zammit between him and the road. An unfair competitors the massive prop wins convincingly.
Ramos converts.
42 minutes. Nicely, what the primary couple of minutes of the half brings are 11 phases from France that pull Wales far and wide, shifting up the pitch and into the 22. Faletau sees a glimpse of the ball at a breakdown, however he was in no place to seize it as he was not on his ft.
Second Half!
We’re again, and let’s see what the subsequent forty or so minutes brings.
The opening France strive is price your consideration, so right here it’s in all it’s glory.
“Hello Lee,” chirps Tom Paternoster-Howe, “With all their poor passes, do you suppose Wales are counting on Nick Berry’s famous perception that Each Loser Wins? Honk!”
I’ll be the choose of the Honk-worthiness of any tried zinger round right here, sunbeam.
PEEEEP! HALF TIME!
40 minutes. Wales attempt to run one thing out from their very own 22 late within the half, however France marshall their defence effectively and drive Adams into contact to finish the half.
37 minutes. Danty has an enormous run on first section from a scrum, carrying twenty metres. He’s dropped by Tipuric, maanges to pop to Dupont who very practically finds Penaud out proper, however the move is simply behind the winger and into contact.
Slowly, absolutely it feels that France are over the preliminary shock of Wales not being a little bit of a shambles and are exerting their larger skill on the sport.
TRY! France 20 – 7 (Jonathan Danty)
34 minutes. France lookup a little bit of a blind alley in the course of the park, however they don’t panic maintain the runner and passes coming till Ramos works Dupont unlock the left touchline. After he’s hauled down the ball is fired through 4 lengthy passes touchline to touchline the place Danty is ready to attain within the nook.
Ramos scores the conversion, in off the submit.
PENALTY! France 13 – 7 Wales (Thomas Ramos)
30 minutes. One other scrum, one other penalty towards Wyn Jones vs Atonio. Ramos extends he lead from the tee.
27 minutes. The ball is chucked behind Dan Biggar by Rhys Webb, forcing the Wales 10 to scramble again into his personal 22 to retrieve it. He pops the ball to Rees Zammit who clears to the touch, however it was on the complete and so France can have an opportunity to assault from contained in the Welsh 22.
PENALTY! France 10 – 7 Wales (Thomas Ramos)
25 minutes. Alun Wyn Jones is being known as for a head damage evaluation by the match physician, and is changed by Daf Jenkins.
On the subsequent breakdown, Wainwright overruns the clearout of Faletau and this permits Marchand to clamp on the ball and win a penalty.
Ramos requires the tee and places his facet within the lead
21 minutes. It’s one other promising interval of possession for Wales, with some bold offloading from the deal with, continually altering the purpose of assault and avoiding too many breakdowns for Danty, Cros et al to make a proper mess of. Nonetheless, as is commonly the case with excessive tempo gameplans, the precision finally suffers because it will get a bit of frantic within the late phases.
Nonetheless, to this point that is going roughly 1756% higher than anybody anticipated for Wales.
18 minutes. Gael Fickou might be in bother right here as he picks up Alun Wyn Jones and turns him past the horizontal. The TMO takes a glance and the ref concludes it was lifted, however low hazard so penalty solely. Wales can have a lineout close to the France 22.
16 minutes. Uini Atonio knocks on within the French 22, and it takes some time to get the scrum accomplished. Wales seems like they’ve accomplished a very good job of wheeling it barely to get an good angle of assault, however Atonio places Wyn Jones below huge strain to drive a collapse penalty.
13 minutes. Wales don’t permit that shattering response from the house facet to knock them off their first rate begin as they as soon as extra work some effectively drilled phases to achieve some floor. Webb places a beautiful angled kick into contact within the France 22 and Gatland’s males can have the ball again from the French exit kick.
TRY! France 7 – 7 Wales (Damian Penaud)
10 minutes. Ntamack drifts throughout the road and steps round Tompkins and into house. He finds Dupont (who else?) in assist within the 22 and the little man seems proper and flings a missile of a move out to Penaud on the touchline to attain.
Ramos provides the 2.
TRY! France 0 – 7 Wales (George North)
7 minutes. From the lineout, Wales can’t get a maul going however they’re once more working phases at tempo as much as the road which have France defending like demons, and inevitably they’re offside once more, and Biggar as soon as extra goes to the nook. The catch and drive from the lineout splinters France who infringe for the fifth time within the opening minutes, and because the benefit is being paid, North takes benefit of the confusion to run via a niche and below the posts.
Biggar converts.
5 minutes. Wales are robust once more on the drop-out return, with a number of dynamic carries from pick-and-gos across the ruck, plus shifting the ball round with brief pop passes and making the French work. They’re up into the 22 once more and Les Bleus are offside as soon as extra, however Biggar spurns the posts and places in within the nook.
3 minutes. France exit with little fuss and that enables Rees-Zammit to have a run on the kick return. There follows some first rate phases from Wales, with Wyn Jones and Faletau carrying effectively and forcing the French defence offside. From the lineout Wales drive over, however they’re held up and Ntamack must drop out from below his posts.
Vivid opening couple of minutes for the guests.
Kick Off!
Dan Biggar has the ball in his mitts and as Ref Nick Berry blasts his whistle, the Welsh 10 boots the ball deep into French territory.
Taulupe Faletau is main the Wales group out on the event of the 1ooth cap and what a participant he has been over the previous decade, by no means wanting world class.
The groups are on their manner out, and the Wales followers are beginning to provide their optimistic ideas.
Pre Match Studying
Our man, Michael Aylwin, is just not holding out a lot hope for Wales right this moment, learn all about it right here..
Humorous recreation this for those who’re a Wales fan, what are you hoping to get from it? Let me know this and the rest on the e-mail or through tweet @bloodandmud
Groups
A group that wins by 43 factors at Twickenham shouldn’t want an excessive amount of tinkering; a sentiment Fabien Galthie agrees with as he makes simply two modifications to the facet that walloped England final week. Uini Atonio is again from his ban to start out at tight-head and Romain Taofifenua is in for Paul Willemse.
Warren Gatland is taking very completely different method, as he has the entire match. The altering of the group every week makes one suppose his choice technique is to throw 40 names right into a lottery machine and see which 23 will get fired out of the chute first. Six modifications this week has Alun-Wyn Jones again at lock, and return to the flank for Aaron Wainwright within the forwards. Within the backs, Louis Rees-Zammit returns, however as fullback alternative for the crocked Liam Williams, George North and Nick Tompkins reunite within the centres, and Dan Biggar is again as aggromeister-in-chief at 10.
France: Thomas Ramos; Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou, Jonathan Danty, Ethan Dumortier; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont (c); Cyril Baille, Julien Marchand, Uini Atonio, Thibaud Flament, Romain Taofifenua, Francios Cros, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: Peato Mauvaka, Reda Wardi, Sipili Falatea, Bastien Chalureau, Sekou Macalou, Maxime Lucu, Yoram Moefana, Melvyn Jaminet
Wales: Louis Rees-Zammit, Josh Adams, George North, Nick Tompkins, Rio Dyer; Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens (captain), Tomas Francis, Adam Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau
Replacements: Bradley Roberts, Gareth Thomas, Dillion Lewis, Dafydd Jenkins, Tommy Reffell, Tomos Williams, Owen Williams, Leigh Halfpenny
Preamble
Welcome to Act II of Tremendous Saturday, the half the place issues begin to get a bit attention-grabbing relating to the end result of the Championship. To try to maintain this so simple as potential, if Eire win later, they clearly win the entire present, Grand Slam and all; but when Andy Farrell’s males lose with out a bonus level, then it’s time to get your calculator and a number of outcomes diagrams out.
If France declare victory with a bonus level – which after final week seems a really possible consequence – they are going to win the match (reminder, provided that Eire lose with out a bonus level). If France win right this moment with out a bonus level, they must higher Eire’s factors distinction, which is present 20 higher than Les Bleus’. Nonetheless with me? No? Good..
All of these mind-fogging permutations apart, the ask for France is a straightforward one: win by as many factors as you possibly can muster then hope for a type reversing miracle in Dublin.
Many individuals questioned whether or not introducing bonus factors to the Six Nations was a good suggestion, however they will make the final day a bit of extra attention-grabbing. The draw back is that I’ve needed to sort “bonus level” in a match preamble excess of anybody would really like, together with myself.
