Victors Wales finish off with a lap of honour but this was poor fare
WALES’ narrow victory over France in front of a sell-out Cardiff crowd secured them a second-place Six Nations finish and boosted the Welsh Rugby Union coffers by £3.5million, but this was a turgid Test match which did nothing to excite the viewer.
A win and a Welsh runners-up spot will be causes for positivity for head coach Warren Gatland. But by the same token, the 80 minutes at Principality Stadium seemed to sum up the New Zealander’s side right now as they were dragged into a dogfight by Les Bleus.
There were plenty of negatives for the home team to consider, including an inability to retain possession and another stratospheric penalty count which yet again hit double figures.
Wales didn’t score a point after the 32nd minute and if it hadn’t been for an awful individual display from France fly-half Francois Trinh-Duc, Gatland’s men would have gone down to defeat.
Liam Williams scored a first-half try and Leigh Halfpenny kicked three penalties, but the former summed up the Welsh display by mixing the good with the inexplicably poor.
Wales’ plus points were some tough defence and hard work in the tight five, but when the dust settles on this encounter, Gatland will know this was a game his team could easily have lost.
France’s points came courtesy of a Gael Fickou try and the boots of Maxime Machenaud and Trinh-Duc.
Gatland said: “It was definitely an ugly one. It was all about winning and the performance wasn’t the most important thing. We started well, but there were too many turnovers and mistakes.
“This is not a bad French team and it’s a tough competition to finish second in. We’re pretty happy with where we are and some of the depth we’ve created.
“The boys dug deep and showed some great character, but the disappointing thing about the second half was we played with too much width and hadn’t earned the right to go wide.
“We didn’t get past two phases and there are a lot of things to get better at.”
For their French finale, Dan Biggar returned at flyhalf with Rob Evans, Ken Owens, captain Alun Wyn Jones and Josh Navidi also recalled in the Welsh pack.
England’s 24-15 loss to Grand Slam champions Ireland opened the door for Wales to seal second and atone for their dramatic defeat in Paris last season. Hulking centre Mathieu Bastareaud captained the visitors and the game got off to a rip-roaring start as Trinh-Duc went from hero to zero inside four minutes.
First, Bastareaud’s strong carry was halted by Biggar but when the ball was recycled, the French fly-half stepped back in the pocket to slot a neat drop goal which opened the scoring.
Straight from the restart, France made a criminal mistake. They claimed the ball had not gone 10 metres – it had – and Wales played on through skipper Jones.
Scott Williams chipped through, Trinh-Duc got back to cover but dallied, didn’t collect, and it opened the door for Liam Williams to collect and score his ninth try for Wales. Halfpenny missed the extras, but then slotted a penalty after France were penalised for a deliberate knock-down.
Jacques Brunel shook his head as his team gave Wales needless points, lock Paul Gabrillagues the next to offend as he tackled Justin Tipuric in the air at a lineout. Halfpenny, as he always seems to do, nailed the kick.
An 11-3 lead with 20 minutes played had been handed to Wales on a plate, but France responded.
Hooker Adrien Pelissie – a replacement for usual skipper Guilhem Guirado – escaped a Navidi tackle and skipped clear down the right touchline before finding Wenceslas Lauret.
When the ball was sent back left, Trinh-Duc’s short pass allowed Fickou to fly between Hadleigh Parkes and Scott Williams, escape Biggar’s clutches, and make his way to the line.
Machenaud converted a fine French score.
It was frenetic, yet entertaining stuff, both sides keen to play but turning over and knocking on ball. France – who lost flanker Yacouba Camara to injury – summed that up by making seven handling errors inside the first half hour.
A high tackle from Pelissie on Tomas Francis was the next mistake from France and Halfpenny had his kicking boots with him as he slotted three more points from range.
France would have been kicking themselves, but the danger in the away ranks was obvious, especially following their win over England last time out. That said, their inaccuracy was summed up just before the break. Liam Williams wiped out Benjamin Fall at a ruck – illegally in the eyes of referee Ben O’Keeffe – but Machenaud couldn’t kick the penalty.
A stunning break from Taulupe Faletau was the first action of note after the break, but the second period followed a similar theme to the first. Machenaud did at least succeed where he had failed before half time by kicking a penalty to leave just a point between the teams.
France introduced replacement tighthead Rabah Slimani and the Clermont man had immediate joy as a huge French scrum surge won a penalty. The error-strewn nature of
game was then summed up as the frustratingly awful Trinh-Duc kicked the ball dead in his search for the corner.
Both Gatland and Brunel cut calm figures in their respective boxes, but deep down both coaches must have been despairing.
France’s passionate travelling support did at least bring life to the encounter, Les Bleus pushing for a drive only for Biggar to excellently hold up an away attack and allow his team to clear.
Trinh-Duc’s horror show then continued as he inexplicably passed forward to Fall when under no pressure and then when Liam Williams coughed up yet another needless Welsh penalty by charging through the middle of a ruck, the Toulon man hooked his three-point attempt wide of the sticks.
Brunel had finally seen enough and removed Trinh-Duc from the fray with his team still chasing what was a fractious, frustrating game to watch.
Both sides unloaded their benches in a bid to bring fresh legs, a degree of clarity in the decision making and ultimately, some quality to proceedthe ings. It didn’t happen.
Sometimes rugby matches are meant to turn into a battle and this was one of them. Wales did try to seal a second try, but it never materialised and when replacement Aaron Shingler stole a French lineout with the clock dead, scrumhalf Gareth Davies was content to boot the ball dead.
It left Wales happy – to a degree – as they did a lap of honour at the end of the game, but as the countdown to the 2019 World Cup ticks down, Gatland will know his team can, and must, improve further.