ELUSIVE WYN ESCAPED US
FRANCE ......... 32 WALES ........... 30
ALUN WYN JONES admitted there was utter devastation in the Welsh dressing room as they threw away a Grand Slam that was theirs for the taking in Paris.
Brice Dulin stole the ultimate Six Nations prize away from under Welsh noses with his try in stoppage time.
Wales were outstanding for 70 minutes but will relive those nightmare final 10 minutes forever.
Jones said: “There’s no consolation in pride.
“It’s something you feel and put value on – but we came here to win.
“We were pretty good for the 80-odd minutes of the game and obviously in the final play France edged it.
“They built the pressure in those final minutes and indiscipline probably cost us. But credit to France for getting the win.
“Pressure created error and we fell into that trap.
“For this tournament, it’s disappointing.
“The way we have gone throughout the tournament and off the back of the Autumn Nations Cup, we had an avalanche in terms of improvement in performances. But we obviously fell short.”
As France’s coach Fabien Galthie put it: “The Welsh stopped boxing after the 11th round.”
How a 10-point lead with a man advantage after the red card for Paul Willemse became a two-point loss with Taulupe Faletau and Liam Williams in the sin-bin was a sorry tale of unravelling discipline.
That, and France’s clarity of execution which saw captain Charles Ollivon and full-back Dulin cross in the last three minutes.
France were fortunate not to concede a penalty try just before the hour when Wales’ maul was in full flow, which could have put Wayne Pivac’s side out of sight.
Jones said: “It would be remiss of me and uncouth if I was to shout from the rooftops about decisions we could have got.
“Sometimes these tapes aren’t the ones you chuck in the bin, they are the ones you keep in the memory and they last a lot longer than the wins.”