Wales show up France to top Six Nations table

Wales 19 France 10

Wales will very probably win the Six Nations if they defeat England at Twickenham in the next round with only Italy at home to follow, but they looked champions only in defence as they record a fifth successive victory over France in a match that rarely rose above the ordinary and which was settled by a try that could have come out of a Jacques Tati film.

Wales maintained their unbeaten start to the Six Nations while ending France's 100% record, having been on top for most of the game. They continued their policy of expanding their game and looking for width, but it was their old virtues of power and defence that made the difference.

Both sides had agreed that the roof of the stadium would be shut, but what was described as a mechanical fault ensured it remained open on a chilly but dry evening. Wales prefer it to be shut, less to protect the pitch from the elements and more for the atmosphere it generates.

Wales still started the game strongly, Dan Biggar missing a 35m penalty moments after his chip to the France line was gathered by Maxime Médard ahead of Alex Cuthbert. The visitors had shown a willingness to run from the kick-off when the No8 Damien Chouly’s off-load out of the back of his left hand caught Wales out, but Jules Plisson’s long pass to Djibril Camara was a long way in front of the wing.

France saw little of the ball in the opening quarter and struggled to deal with the variety of kicks out of hand from Biggar: the high ones tended to be dropped and the chips hurriedly gathered. Wales moved the ball in their opponents’ half and one move saw the forwards Alun Wyn Jones and Rob Evans involved four times before the latter lost control of the ball and was penalised.

The Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, had spoken in the buildup about the lack of space in an international match and his players were confirming his opinion, although there were times when France’s defence looked close to snapping. The visitors’ one stronghold was the scrum, which yielded a 17th-minute penalty just inside the Wales half that Plisson tried to convert into three points; he had the distance but not the direction.

The first points took 21 minutes to arrive. The referee, Wayne Barnes, was playing advantage when the second row Paul Jedrasiak took out Taulupe Faletau off the ball in a repeat of the calculated indiscipline France had shown against Ireland in the previous round. Biggar doubled Wales’s lead 11 minutes from the interval when Plisson was penalised for holding on and the match had become more whistle than play.

France mustered their first attack after 32 minutes when the wing Virimi Vakatawa got through the defence and Wales found themselves protecting their line. They were awarded a penalty which was reversed where Barnes ordered a replay of a tackle by Dan Lydiate on Guilhem Guirado which revealed the flanker had not used his arms in the challenge. Plisson kicked the resulting penalty.

The best period of play in the opening period came at the end. Gareth Davies broke from a scrum, an area of the game Wales were by now on top in, and kicked to the line after ignoring an overlap. Médard thwarted Liam Williams and when Wales were awarded a penalty at the subsequent scrum they opted for another set-piece, but a move involving George North was thwarted and France escaped with a penalty.

Wales started the second half with a move from a scrum that nearly caught out France, Jonathan Davies taking an inside angle from Biggar’s short pass. Faletau and Sam Warburton took the move on, but again the home side could not find the final pass and had to settle for Biggar’s third penalty, awarded for Jonathan Danty’s tip-tackle on Cuthbert.

When Wales did score a try it was after a period of French pressure. Plisson’s failure to hold a pass in the home 22 saw play move towards halfway where the prop Jefferson Poirot was left to ponder the case of the disappearing ball when it fell from his grasp and was hacked on by Gareth Davies.

North gave chase and, overtaking Plisson, had the choice of picking up the ball 10m from the France line or hacking it. He took the latter option and missed it completely only for Plisson to inadvertently kick the ball to the Wales wing, who picked up and scored.

The try stirred France, who showed a focus that had been lacking in the opening 50 minutes. Warburton and Jones held up a drive near the Wales line and Médard was tackled into touch as Les Bleus ran a series of penalties while, like their hosts, finding space elusive.

The flow was not helped by references to the television match official. It took a couple of minutes to rule that Cuthbert’s challenge on Médard was not dangerous and by then the fervour that had gripped France had given way to their earlier lethargy. Biggar confirmed victory with his fourth penalty before going off with cramp and being given a standing ovation.

France scored a try in the final minute when a rolling maul ended with Guirado falling over the line, but the Welsh defence had held strong for long enough.

Wales: Liam Williams (Anscombe, 74); Cuthbert, J Davies, Roberts, North; Biggar (Priestland, 70), G Davies; Evans (Jenkins, 55), Baldwin (Owens, 66), Lee (Francis, 66), B Davies, Jones, Lydiate, Warburton (capt), Faletau.

Try: North. Con: Biggar. Pens: Biggar 4.

France: Medard; Vakatawa, Mermoz (Fickou, 66), Danty, Camara; Plisson (Trinh-Duc, 63), Machenaud (Bezy 70); Poirot (Pelo, 63), Guirado (capt); Chat, 63), Slimani (Atonio, 63), Jedrasiak (Maestri, 43), Flanquart, Lauret, Burban (Goujon, 52), Chouly.

Try: Guirado. Con: Trinh-Duc. Pen: Plisson.

Referee: W Barnes (England).

Attendance: 74,160.