Wales claim record win over France
Saturday 22 February 2014
Wales' George North scores a try during the RBS 6 Nations match at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
©PA
Reigning champions Wales put their RBS 6 Nations title bid back on track with a Millennium Stadium mauling of France that ended Les Bleus' Grand Slam hopes.
Wales coach Warren Gatland hailed his players for a "brilliant" response to their Dublin debacle that put themselves back in RBS 6 Nations title contention with a 27-6 Millennium Stadium drubbing of France.
Wales were transformed from the side left battered and bruised by Ireland 13 days ago, never looking back once an early George North try and five Leigh Halfpenny penalties put them 14 points clear at half-time.
It did not improve for France after the break either, as Wales powered home to claim a record Six Nations win against Les Bleus after skipper Sam Warburton touched down, with Halfpenny's conversion giving him a 17-point haul.
"We know we let ourselves down in Dublin in terms of the way we played and the performance," Gatland said, reflecting on that 26-3 drubbing.
"There was a lot of pressure on the coaches and the players, and they responded brilliantly. I thought it was an excellent display.
"The performance against Ireland just wasn't good enough. It wasn't good enough from the players or coaches.
"It was a reminder that when we put that jersey on we have got a huge amount to play for, whether it is family or friends or players from the past.
"The atmosphere tonight was sensational, and the players responded brilliantly to the pressure they were put under.
Wales' record Six Nations win against France has put them back in the title mix ahead of tackling England, and then hosting Scotland on March 15.
And assessing hopes of silverware, Gatland added: "It gives us a better chance than we had before tonight. If you look at Dublin, you would probably have expected tonight to be a lot closer. We are back in contention.
"We have got some confidence and can build a bit of momentum. We have had some good results at Twickenham.
And Warburton said: "It has been a very long two weeks. It has been quite a long time having to wait. The pain we felt after Ireland has fuelled the last two weeks' training.
"We really wanted to put things right, everyone knuckled down. Everyone was so desperate."
Woeful France saw their hopes of a Grand Slam disappear without trace.
They had beaten England and Italy, but proved no match for Wales, and coach Philippe Saint-Andre could not mask his frustration.
"We knew the first 20 minutes would be vital and crucial after Wales' last game two weeks ago, but after 10 minutes we were 11 points down after conceding two silly penalties and a try," he said.
"We knew if we wanted to win that we would have to start well.
"Our motivation should have been as strong as that of the Welsh team, and our desire should have been the same, but it wasn't.
"I have told the players that we can still win the Six Nations, and we now have to target wins against Scotland and Ireland."
Wales were transformed from the side left battered and bruised by Ireland 13 days ago, never looking back once an early George North try and five Leigh Halfpenny penalties put them 14 points clear at half-time.
It did not improve for France after the break either, as Wales powered home 27-6 - a record Six Nations win against Les Bleus - after skipper Sam Warburton touched down, with Halfpenny's conversion giving him a 17-point haul.
Woeful France could only manage penalties by Jean-Marc Doussain and Jules Plisson in reply, while they had two forwards - prop Nicolas Mas and number eight Louis Picamoles - sin-binned during the second period.
Wales, having revived their hopes of achieving an unprecedented Six Nations title hat-trick, now move on to tackle England at Twickenham in 16 days' time.
And coach Warren Gatland will be thrilled that his players responded from the Dublin debacle in such devastating fashion, taking charge of the game early on and never loosening their grip on the contest.
France offered next to nothing in reply, but they were not allowed to as Wales tackled and harried them out of their stride and served notice that they still mean business in a championship that looked to have passed them by only a short time ago.
And they even achieved it without lock Alun-Wyn Jones, who was forced out due to a foot infection and replaced by the Scarlets' Jake Ball, which meant Ball and scrum-half Rhys Webb made their first Wales starts.
Unbeaten France showed just one change from the side that accounted for Italy 12 days ago, with Racing Metro flanker Wenceslas Lauret taking over from an injured Bernard Le Roux.
Gatland had put his cards on the table this week with regards to future selection following the Ireland drubbing, with players left in no doubt that they needed to perform.
And Gatland got an immediate response as Wales stormed eight points clear inside six minutes through a Halfpenny penalty and North's try.
Halfpenny opened the scoring through a 48-metre strike, then Wales attacked from deep via Halfpenny and wing Liam Williams before North capitalised on defensive hesitancy between Doussain and France full-back Brice Dulin to pounce for the touchdown.
Halfpenny missed the conversion attempt, but he quickly made amends by landing another long-range penalty and Wales could reflect on a dream start, leading 11-0 after just nine minutes.
France looked as though they had cut the deficit when wing Yoann Huget danced his way over Wales' line, but play was called back following a knock-on by Les Bleus skipper Pascal Pape as he tackled Wales fly-half Rhys Priestland, and the home side escaped.
Doussain and Halfpenny then exchanged penalties, but after Doussain missed his next shot at goal, half-back partner Plisson took over and cut the gap with a penalty to 14-6.
Wales continued to look dangerous through the attacking midfield channels, with North prominent, while they were far more combative and productive at the critical breakdown area than they had been in Dublin almost a fortnight ago.
A fourth Halfpenny penalty soon after restored Wales' 11-point advantage, and France coach Philippe Saint-Andre must have been left infuriated by his team's technical indiscipline as Halfpenny booted another three-pointer just before the break for a 20-6 interval advantage.
Saint-Andre replaced an ineffective Doussain with Maxime Machenaud for the second period, but France could still make little headway as Wales continued to boss the physical exchanges.
Referee Alain Rolland readily awarded penalties to both sides, especially on the back of some shambolic set-scrums, and Wales appeared in little danger until a trademark charge from French midfield powerhouse Mathieu Bastareaud almot breached their defence.
Rolland's patience at scrum-time then expired when one more collapse resulted in him sin-binning rival props Gethin Jenkins and Nicolas Mas, leaving both sides temporarily down to 14 men.
Picamoles departed almost as Mas returned, and then Warburton stretched out to score, sealing the victory and serving notice that Wales are well and truly back.
©PA
