'We've got to be smarter and better' - Wales looking to summon a reaction against France
Wales boss Steve Tandy has recalled Joe Hawkins and Olly Cracknell for the visit of France
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Steve Tandy admits his side “have got to be better” ahead of Wales’ daunting Guinness Six Nations match against France at the Principality Stadium.
With a 12-match losing streak in the competition stretching back to March 2023, Tandy has made four changes to the starting XV that suffered a chastening 48-7 defeat to England in the opening round.
Rhys Carré and Tomos Francis start in a new-look front row alongside captain Dewi Lake.
There are positional changes in the back row, with Alex Mann moving to openside flanker, Aaron Wainwright starting at blindside, and Olly Cracknell making his Six Nations debut at number 8.
Joe Hawkins is in line for his first championship start since March 2023, when Wales last tasted victory in the tournament, beating Italy at the Stadio Olimpico.
But Tandy admits there wasn’t a strong reaction to the team announcement despite the heavy defeat.
“I don’t think it’s a massive reaction,” said Tandy.
“Obviously, with the props, I feel there’s a big demand over the three weeks that we’re going to have three back-to-back games, and then Olly Cracknell has come back and trained fully this week.
"Ryan Elias [who is among the replacements] has been more or less the same, and again it’s a good opportunity for him.”
Wales’ discipline woes
Discipline remains a major concern for Tandy, with Wales conceding 10 cards across the five games of his tenure - four of which came last week against England. Wales have also shipped an average of 13 penalties per match.
The Welsh coach has been in dialogue with World Rugby following the autumn campaign and hopes a fix will be arriving soon.
"I am always interacting with World Rugby, and we have taken from the autumn the offsides,” added Tandy.
“We were over five a game, and as coaches we have to look at that.
“We have had teams of three officials constantly, the players are interacting more with the referees. For us, it's making sure we are working tirelessly.
“The way the game is refereed now, there are more yellow cards in the game. We are on the wrong end of it, and you are not going to win games with four yellow cards. We are looking hard at it.”
France looking to continue impressive run against Wales
France will be looking to make it two wins from two on Sunday afternoon as they chase another Six Nations title.
They have also maintained an impressive record against Wales since the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to Warren Gatland’s side in Japan.
They have won the last seven meetings, six in the Six Nations, plus a friendly in Paris in October 2020. Four of those victories in the Six Nations saw the French claim a try bonus point.
There’s only a single change to their starting XV that opened the tournament against Ireland, with Pau centre Fabien Brau-Boirie starting at 12 alongside club teammate Emilien Gailleton.
Stade Français centre Noah Nene is in line for his first international cap as he’s named on a powerful 6-2 French bench, which also includes Thibaud Flament and Emmanuel Meafou.
Tandy admitted his team must show intelligence when going toe-to-toe with the French pack and facing the threat of Antoine Dupont.
"We’ve got to be smarter,” the Welsh head coach said.
"We are not South Africa, we are not one of the biggest teams in the world, so we’ve got to be smart, play rugby and hold the ball.
"We are not going to go straight through France. Look at their size and 6-2 bench, so we have to play smart around how we attack the game.
"I’ve coached against him (Dupont) for a long time and come up against him in games.
"It’s preparing yourself. You know at some point he’ll have a moment, or a couple of moments. It’s about not creating that stress around it.
"Great players will have moments, but there’ll be things in how he plays where you feel you can help yourself—whether that’s in attack or defence. He’s a world-class player.
“You know he’ll have those moments. It’s knowing where we can limit those moments in the game. You have to be aware of his strengths around the breakdown, kicks off both feet. You can’t cover everything. Again, it’s making sure we’re better around our system that can help turn some of those into opportunities when we get the ball."
Wales: Rees-Zammit; Mee, James, Hawkins, Adams; Edwards, T Williams; Carre, Lake (capt), Francis, Jenkins, Beard, Wainwright, Mann, Cracknell.
Replacements: Elias, Smith, Griffin, Carter, Plumtree, Hardy, J Evans, Grady.
France: Ramos; Attissogbe, Gailleton, Brau-Boirie, Bielle-Biarrey; Jalibert, Dupont (capt); Gros, Marchand, Aldegheri, Ollivon, Guillard, Cros, Jegou, Jelonch.
Replacements: Lamothe, Neti, Montagne, Flament, Meafou, Nouchi, Serin, Nene.
