Six Nations 2018 Championship preview: Wales v France
Last Updated: 17/03/18 2:06pm
A look ahead to the battle in Cardiff as Wales host France in the final round of the 2018 Six Nations Championship on Saturday (kick-off 5pm).
Form
Wales: WWLLW
Considering all their injuries, Wales have had a solid tournament and a win in Cardiff on Saturday will likely to confirm second place behind champions Ireland. The injuries have allowed Warren Gatland to develop his depth ahead of next years World Cup but Saturday will be about securing the win.
Wales played in flashes against Italy and it was enough for them to win 38-14, however, they lost to Ireland and England despite finishing strongly and creating opportunities to win both of those games. A slow start is certainly not what they need on Saturday but will be confident of another home win.
France: DLLWW
France are also targeting second place and made it two wins in a row when they followed up their victory against Italy with last weekend's 22-16 win over England. It was another confidence-boosting win for Les Bleus who may not have exactly fired at the set-piece but ruled the breakdown.
France were within a converted try of beating Scotland in round two and saw Ireland wrest victory from their grasp in the most dramatic fashion with Johnny Sexton's last-minute drop-goal in round one.
Despite their two wins, this will be a tough ask for France, who have not won in Cardiff since 2010.
Last meeting
France 20-18 Wales, March 18, 2017
Who could forget this match! Extra time went on for 20 minutes with France camped on the Welsh line, ending with replacement flanker Damien Chouly scoring a try that was converted by Camille Lopez for the win.
It was one of the most remarkable 20 minutes of rugby we have seen, which included a prop replacement, countless penalties, a bite allegation and finally a winning try!
Key Players
Wales: Josh Navidi and Justin Tipuric will play a vital role for Wales at the breakdown, but Dan Biggar has a lot of pressure to perform with Rhys Patchell and Gareth Anscombe breathing down his neck. Running the big France forwards ragged will be key for Wales and it will be up to Biggar to dictate the pace of the game. His forwards will be up against it to provide that all important front foot ball and Biggar must take his options wisely.
France: Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud tips the scales at comfortably over 18 stone, and he will be a huge threat to Wales. After starting this season's Six Nations by serving a ban for using homophobic language towards an opposition player in a European club game, he ends it by taking over leadership duties from the injured Guilhem Guirado.
Bastareaud's game inevitably revolves around his physical power, and if Wales start missing tackles then he has the ability to run riot. It is easier said than done to stop him in his tracks, but that is what Wales must do or France are likely to be on their way towards victory.
Pre-match thoughts
Warren Gatland: "We know it will be a tough game, but we have got to be prepared to go through a little bit of pain in terms of keeping the pressure on them and wear their forward pack down.
"I think they (France) have played well all competition. They played well against Ireland in their first game, the first 40-50 minutes against Scotland, and they were outstanding against England last weekend.
"It's going to be a close encounter and a very physical game."
Jacques Brunel: "Of course it's a game that can change everything. We know the context of the championship. We said that our ambition was to match the best. Up until now, we're not that far off but we know that the result will have a bearing on our search for consistency. The result will either legitimise our ambition or put the brakes on it.
"They are always complicated matches against the Welsh, generally very intense, with very long sequences of play," said the 64-year-old who was forwards coach when France won the Grand Slam with victory in the then-Millennium Stadium in 2002."
Team news
Wales
Warren Gatland has made seven changes including the return of skipper Alun Wyn Jones, while Dan Biggar replaces Gareth Anscombe at fly-half.
Liam Williams moves to the wing to accommodate Leigh Halfpenny's inclusion at full-back, with Scott Williams restored to the midfield alongside Hadleigh Parkes.
Justin Tipuric impressed at No 6 against Italy and keeps his starting berth with Aaron Shingler on the bench, while Josh Navidi is preferred at openside flanker to James Davies, who drops out of the match-day squad after making his Wales debut against Italy.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies; 1 Rob Evans, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Cory Hill, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 6 Justin Tipuric, 7 Josh Navidi, 8 Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Steff Evans.
France
France will certainly miss injured captain Guilhem Guirado who has been excellent for Les Bleus this campaign. Centre Mathieu Bastareaud takes over the captains armband while Adrien Pelissie takes over the hooking duties.
There is a further change in the front row where Cedate Gomes Sa replaces Rabah Slimani at tighthead prop, while in the backs Gael Fickou comes into the wing with Benjamin Fall moving to full-back in place of the injured Hugo Bonneval.
France: 15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Gael Fickou, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud (c), 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Remy Grosso, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 1 Jefferson Poirot, 2 Adrien Pelissie, 3 Cedate Gomes Sa, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 5 Paul Gabrillagues, 6 Yacouba Camara, 7 Wenceslas Lauret,8 Marco Tauleigne.
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Baptiste Couilloud, 22 Lionel Beauxis, 23 Geoffrey Palis.
