Six Nations - France end Welsh Grand Slam hopes

Eurosport - Sat, 28 Feb 14:28:00 2009

France ended Wales' hopes of a second consecutive Grand Slam with a deserved 21-16 victory in a pulsating night game in Paris.

Imanol Harinordoquy - France - 0

France dominated the second half after the sides had gone into the break 13-13 and brought to an end Wales' run of eight consecutive victories in the championship.

Les Bleus out-scored Wales by two tries to one - touching down through Thierry Dusautoir and Cedric Heymans either side of half-time - and could have been out of sight had teenage scrum-half Morgan Parra taken his chances on goal in the second half.

Two France kicks and a drop goal went astray in the final quarter and when replacement James Hook landed a penalty in the 72nd minute, Wales' hopes of a second Grand Slam were still alive, although against the run of play.

Wales were twice held up short in the closing stages but superb France defence kept them at bay and secured a much-needed win for their under-fire coach Marc Lievremont.

The result throws the championship wide open and leaves Ireland, who face England in Dublin on Saturday, as the only unbeaten team.

In what was the first night game in Six Nations history, Wales got off to an excellent start when Stephen Jones landed a third-minute penalty.

Parra and Jones swapped further penalties in a frenetic opening quarter before in-form full-back Lee Byrne cut a superb line off a Welsh attack to burst clear for the first try of the game in the 24th minute.

The score gave Wales a 10-point lead and they almost extended their advantage when Andy Powell broke free from a scrum and burst clear into the France 22.

But a combination of a knock on and superb France tackling prevented the hosts from falling further behind in an opening half-hour full of enterprise and brutal defence.

France weathered the storm and gradually fought their way back into the match with Parra cutting Wales' lead with his second penalty in the 35th minute.

France lost their fly-half Benoit Baby with a head injury soon after, to be replaced by Francois Trinh-Duc, but the change appeared not to affect their momentum.

Man-of-the-match Imanol Harinordoquy (pictured) had had a try disallowed for handling in a ruck in the 20th minute after hooker Dimitri Szarzewski had been held up short, but just before the break the outstanding number eight burst clear from a scrum just outside the Wales 22.

Harinordoquy was cut down by a superb tackle from Byrne but the French forwards followed up to create the pressure for Dusautoir to force his way over. Parra made it three from three kicks on goal to level the scores.

With only five days preparation to Wales' two weeks, many expected France to tire in the second half, but their forwards took the game by the scruff of the neck.

Tom Shanklin had been prominent in midfield before the break but in the second half it was the turn of France centres Yannick Jauzion and the giant debutant Mathieu Bastareaud to make all the running.

In the 53rd minute Bastareaud made a typical burst at the Wales defence, the ball was recycled and although France nearly made a mess of the chance, Heymans cut in from his wing to touch down. The television official needed several views before awarding the try for an 18-13 lead to France.

Parra missed the conversion but the momentum was very much with the home side, and Wales coach Warren Gatland felt the need to bring on Gavin Henson at centre and Dwayne Peel at scrum-half.

But Wales were being forced to play behind the gain line, and although Parra missed a shot at goal just after the hour, he made Wales pay for a tackle off the ball in the 70th minute to put them two scores clear at 21-13.

Try as they might Wales were unable to make inroads into the France defence but they were given a lifeline with eight minutes left on the clock.

After Byrne had been brought down by a stunning last-ditch tackle from Dusautoir, France infringed at the ensuing ruck and Hook coolly slotted the penalty.

Further infringements by France allowed Hook to set up several attacking lineout for the visitors. Martyn Williams nearly made it to the French try-line from one, and Henson almost capped his return to international rugby with a try as he went for glory with two minutes remaining.

Wales had one final chance from a lineout close to the France line in the final seconds, but the long throw was knocked on and the home side cleared to touch for a deserved victory.

Terence O'Rorke / Eurosport

Comment 129 - 148 of 148

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  1. Go to France?! Nice one!

    From Jake, on Mon 2 Mar 12:17PM

  2. Allez au France!!! I like the way the Welsh claim to be­ the former best team in the world... did they beat­ South Africa then?.... Shame for the Grand Slam but­ just goes to show yet again how you can never predict­ the French.

    As for the moronic racist comments here,­ worthy of "soccer" and nothing else,­ regardless of who the instigators may be and whence­ they hail they are not true rugby followers.

    From Tarquinius S, on Sun 1 Mar 11:31AM

  3. France v Wales yesterday was a good game of rugby,­ could've gone both ways. But on the day, France had­ the edge and deservedly won. Wales are not a finished­ article and still Work In Progress (WIP) it takes time.­ Well done France though.

    From Smiggie, on Sat 28 Feb 7:03PM

  4. Bob..He said both English and Welsh supporters, lets­ ignore racist comments and enjoy rugby and sports. Keep­ the banter to an acceptable level

    From eranu.uvavu, on Sat 28 Feb 5:30PM

  5. As well as Wales have played in the last 12 months,­ they aren't the finished article yet by a long way.­ This game proved it. Just because they beat an­ England team which is in the middle of a rebuilding­ period doesn't mean they are anything special.

    From Donald D, on Sat 28 Feb 5:02PM

  6. Pez, I would agree with your sentiment regarding the­ fact that we are all ultimately part of the whole which­ is GB. Perhaps you would also therefore acknowledge­ that there is just as much racism is the posts from­ English supporters as from the Welsh on this board.

    From Bob B, on Sat 28 Feb 4:33PM

  7. Pez your right, both sides are as bad as each other.­ And in many cases like these, people are hiding away­ behind their keyboards.

    From eranu.uvavu, on Sat 28 Feb 3:19PM

  8. I wonder if any of these anti English Welsh supporters­ would go up to Shaun Edwards and repeat there racist­ @#$%. Probably not because there all Internet cowards.­ Ive thought along side many Welshmen in Iraq and­ Afghanistan. Thats how it should be.

    From pez4156, on Sat 28 Feb 2:58PM

  9. Wales shouldnt get to down over this result, It could­ have very easily gone their way? literally inches init?­ Gatland needs to find another way? England found the­ key to un-locking Wales(stopping their big runners­ midfield) and France used it to great effect in the­ second half, also this ref stopped Wales infringing at­ the breakdown, some thing they got away with against­ England...ironic? If they cant switch it up a bit then­ Ireland will destoy wales, much like they will the­ English this afternoon??

    From Peter R, on Sat 28 Feb 2:48PM

  10. By far the best game so far. The best team won but­ both played fantastic rugby. Well done France.

    From John B, on Sat 28 Feb 1:53PM

  11. Chris, I think the cap lock key on your keyboard might­ be broken. A number of the punctuation keys also appear­ to be missing.

    From Bob B, on Sat 28 Feb 1:05PM

  12. wELL DONE FRANCE YOU ARE NOW THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD­ HAVING BEATEN THE FORMER BEST TEAM SO THE WELSH KEEP­ TELLING US NEVER MIND WORLD CUPS ALLEZ FRANCE

    From Chris M, on Sat 28 Feb 1:04PM

  13. wELL DONE FRANCE YOU ARE NOW THE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD­ HAVING BEATEN THE FORMER BEST TEAM SO THE WELSH KEEP­ TELLING US NEVER MIND WORLD CUPS ALLEZ FRANCE

    From Chris M, on Sat 28 Feb 12:57PM

  14. Matthieu...Felicitations hier soir, je suis Anglais ,­ mais je suis tres content de regardez un tres bon­ equipe de france. La France est toujours mon deuxieme­ equipe. Salut, Dominic.

    From eranu.uvavu, on Sat 28 Feb 12:56PM

  15. to kevin odonnell but you eat the sheep

    From AnnMarie F, on Sat 28 Feb 12:55PM

  16. French forwards won this game. They played as a pack­ should - together, particularly their back row. Welsh­ forwards defended well but lacked energy and­ inspiration. Too many Welsh mistakes and guilty in the­ backs of not giving the ball out when people were in­ better positions e.g. Shane Williams in the first­ minute came back inside when three men were outside­ him. Gavin Henson going for glory in the last minute­ when there was a three on two situation. Basic stuff,­ which can mean the difference between winning and­ losing. Get the impression that most contributors to­ this article have never played rugby (they can't­ spell either!) ex rugby coach

    From suzanne.darcy, on Sat 28 Feb 12:53PM

  17. Hi matthieu, you fully deserved to beat us last night­ in what was the best game of the competition so far.­ Hopefully Lievremont will not make too many changes as­ France looked very impressive in both the forwards and­ the backs. Bonne chance pour votre prochaine match.

    From Bob B, on Sat 28 Feb 12:43PM

  18. Hello from France (bordeaux). Great game. Thanks to all­ players who played with superb heart. Unlikely, I fear­ that my so beloved french team, so unpredictable, and­ so charming when sounds revolt, won't reproduct­ this performance at Twickenham. That's the deep­ problem we usually face : we are able to beat the best­ team, whoever they are, and afterwards show lacks for­ the next game.
    Anyway, Vive la France ! :-)

    From matthieu p, on Sat 28 Feb 12:31PM

  19. Well dome France, you deserved the win...just as Wales­ deserved to win against England, albeit more narrowly­ than France should have won by, their kicking wasnt­ exactly expert last night, they squandered points that­ they may have needed if Wales had taken their chances­ in the last 5 minutes.
    It seems that it is mor eopen­ this year, now that France have come into it, but i­ fear the French are still a team that succeeds at­ inconsistency, mixes mediocrity with one amazing game­ every year.
    I think Ireland will prove less of a­ proposition against England than Wales were, i think­ the grand slam will not be won this year, but triple­ crowns may play a part...Ireland to lose today, but win­ the championship on points aggregate.
    Italy to beat­ Scotland on sunday too!!

    From Koppite 1973, on Sat 28 Feb 12:28PM

  20. limo1wales-Well said my friend, I am happy to see there­ are others like me.

    From eranu.uvavu, on Sat 28 Feb 12:24PM
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