RUGBY: France v Wales:WALES MAY have only a slender chance of overhauling England at the top of the table this evening, but victory over France in Paris would give them the distinction of being the most successful team in the Six Nations in the four years since the last World Cup.
Wales will travel to New Zealand this autumn armed not just with stability – Warren Gatland this month became the longest-serving national coach in terms of matches – but with a track record. Wales have won 13 of their 19 championship matches under Gatland. In the previous two World Cup cycles, which took in the first eight years of the Six Nations, they recorded 15 wins. The improvement may be stark but it was only a few weeks ago there were calls for the New Zealander to be sacked.
Wales were written off as rubbish after losing their opening game against England, but three successive victories since have not just taken them to second in the table but have seen Gatland become the first Wales coach in the modern era to halt a slide after initial success. He clearly has his focus on the opening match in the World Cup, against South Africa.
In the past, Wales would have concentrated on qualifying for the quarter-finals as a runner-up, but Gatland has insisted Wales play the Tri-Nations on a regular basis to help his players shake off the also-ran mentality. He may have had only one win, but Wales are no longer blowing at the finish and they will be a match physically for the Springboks.
The criticism after the England defeat still rankles. “We were described as crap,” Gatland said, “but there were only seven points between the teams. Everyone went on about the try we scored against Ireland from an illegal quick lineout, but a key moment against England came when Craig Mitchell was harshly sent to the sin-bin. Even a referee’s assessor told us afterwards it was not a yellow card offence, but England scored seven points in his absence and it was every bit as significant as last week, if not more so.”
Wales have hauled themselves back into contention by revealing qualities they are not renowned for: grit and patience. Last season impetuosity cost them, but the way they beat Scotland, nursing an early lead and inviting the home side to show what they could do with the ball, revealed a calculation they will need when they face the Springboks.
Whoever wins this evening will have the most successful Six Nations record since the last World Cup, with France also having won 13 out of 19, one more than England and Ireland. Yet the French, after losing in Italy, are the ones talking about the need to change their coach, with the erratic Marc Lievremont branding his players as cowards after their capitulation in Rome.
GuardianService
FRANCE: M Medard; V Clerc, D Marty, D Traille, A Palisson; F Trinh-Duc, M Parra; T Domingo, W Servat, N Mas, J Pierre, L Nallet, T Dusautoir (capt), J Bonnaire, I Harinordoquy. Replacements: G Guirado, L Ducalon, P Pape, A Lapandry, J Tomas, F Estebanez, Y Huget.
WALES: L Byrne; L Halfpenny, J Roberts, J Davies, G North; J Hook, M Phillips; P James, M Rees (capt), A Jones, B Davies, A-W Jones, D Lydiate, S Warburton, R Jones. Replacements: R Hibbard, J Yapp, J Thomas, R McCusker, D Peel, S Jones, M Stoddart.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa).
