Wales take on France in the 2018 Six Nations finale in Cardiff today with second place the potential prize for both sides. It has been a tournament of mixed fortunes for Warren Gatland and Jacques Brunel, but on the back of wins in round four, both will b

Leigh Halfpenny 7 v Benjamin Fall 6 Restored to the No. 15 jersey, Halfpenny has silenced plenty of doubters during the course of this tournament. Lively off the bench against Italy, his goal-kicking has been world class. Fall moved to full-back as cover for the injured Hugo Bonneval against England and starts there against Wales. A threatening, rangy runner who will look to counter. George North 8 v Remy Grosso 7 A battle that won’t be for the faint of heart. A rejuvenated North made an impressive two-try return to the starting XV against the Azzurri, coming off his wing looking for work and giving Wales a familiar attacking spearhead. Aside from Teddy Thomas – one of the players put on the naughty step following their late night exploits in Edinburgh – the 6ft 2in Rosso has been France’s most dangerous attacking force. Scott Williams 6 v Mathieu Bastareaud 8 Williams has earned the nod over Owen Watkin for the No. 13 jersey, but it must have been a tight call and the Scarlet will be aware of that as he goes head to head with a familiar foe in Bastareaud. The heartbeat of France’s resurgence, the Toulon juggernaut has been an inspiration with his bullocking runs, big tackles and crucial turnovers. Hadleigh Parkes 8 v Geoffrery Doumayrou 7 Parkes has enjoyed a seamless transition to Test match rugby, providing a reliable glue in the Welsh backline. Man of the match against Italy, the Kiwi-born Scarlet has beaten more defenders than any player in the championship. His passing game is also under-rated. With Wesley Fofana ruled out because of injury before the tournament kicked off and Remy Lamerat dropped after Murrayfield, France have been forced into a major reshuffle of their three-quarter line, but La Rochelle centre Doumayrou has proven a useful foil to Bastareaud, a strong runner who put pressure on the Ford-Farrell axis in Paris. Liam Williams 7 v Gael Fickou 7 Gatland will hope Williams has drawn a big bold line under the events of last weekend. The Saracen has endured a frustrating tournament; back on the wing where he plays his club rugby, he will be desperate to finish in the style Welsh fans are accustomed to seeing. Fickou looked destined for a glorious international career when he first burst onto the scene with a try against England four years ago, but like many French backs of recent years has lost his way. Was dangerous off the bench against England, but is a centre playing on the wing. Dan Biggar 7 v Francois Trinh-Duc 6 If, as Gatland says, the fly-half debate has been lively within the Wales camp, it has been raging outside, meaning there will be a huge focus on the Ospreys pivot, who has been recalled ahead of Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Patchell. Biggar has been around long enough not to let outside pressures weigh heavily on his shoulders, but he will be aware that every aspect of his performance will be analysed forensically. The French fly-half merry-go-round, meanwhile, is a different level altogether with Trinh-Duc the latest to waer the No. 10 jersey. His kicking game has been erratic, but looked full of confidence against England. Gareth Davies 7 v Maxime Machenaud 8 Like his former Scarlets team-mate Williams, Davies won’t look back fondly at last weekend’s Italian game with a missed tackle and yellow card blighting his performance. But he remains in the positive in this tournament and will hope to finish it as he started, blazing a trail across the Principality turf. Machenaud’s dead-eyed goal-kicking was key in helping keep England at arms length in Paris. An astute, canny operator in the mould of the great French ‘petit generals’, he who will look to dictate around the base. The only surviving back from the opener against Ireland. Rob Evans 7 v Cedate Gomes Sa 6 Like the majority of the Welsh pack, wasn’t at his best in Dublin, but has been one of the leading loose-heads in the tournament. Racing’s Gomes Sa is a surprise choice at tight-head over the strong-scrummaging Rabah Slimani, who was at the heart of the late scrum farce in Paris last year. It goes without saying, expect supersub Slimani to appear off the bench. Ken Owens 7 v Adrien Pelissie 6 Another who was subdued by Ireland’s pack, the Scarlets skipper will look to bounce back with a typically effervescent display against Les Bleus. Can be relied on to put in a big shift in defence. His line-out accuracy has also been excellent. The loss of talismanic skipper Guilhem Guirado is a massive blow to Les Bleus. The French line-out was shaky in Paris last weekend and Wales will be looking to pile the pressure on Bordeaux hooker Pelissie, who will be making his first Test start in Cardiff. Tomas Francis 6 v Jefferson Poirot 7 There’s been little to choose between Francis and Samson Lee for the No. 3 jersey in the last couple of seasons and the Exeter man is rewarded for a strong display against Italy with the starting shirt against France. Poirot has revealed he uses hypnosis to prepare for games and in recent years you wonder if some of his team-mates may have as well, perhaps a little too much! Cory Hill 7 v Sebastian Vahaamahina 7 Rewarded with his first international try against Italy, the Dragons skipper has been one of the big positives for Gatland. Has shown some nice touches with the ball and has put his shoulder to the wheel when needed in the tight. The giant Vaahmahina started the championship strongly, although he came off second best against the English pack in Paris. Will throw his weight around and is a tough man to halt on the charge. Alun Wyn Jones 8 v Paul Gabrillagues 6 Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Gatland told his skipper he was being rested last weekend. Jones doesn’t tend to do weeks off and he will be champing at the bit come Saturday afternoon. The Lions lock has handed Welsh rugby and the Ospreys a welcome pre-match lift by agreeing an extension of his national dual contract. After coming off the bench in the defeats to Ireland and Scotland, Stade second row Gabrillagues has started against Italy and England. Is still finding his feet at Test level and struggled to impose himself in the line-out last weekend. Justin Tipuric 7 v Wencelas Lauret 7 Lauded by Gatland in the wake of the win over Italy, Tipuric looked certain to remain for the finale against France – the question was where. Surprisingly, it is again in an unfamiliar blindside role with Aaron Shingler unfortunate to miss out. Lauret is an old school workaholic back-rower who isn’t afraid to put his head where it hurts. Has enjoyed a consistent campaign and was one of many Frenchman to enjoy himself at the breakdown against England’s out-played back-row. Josh Navidi 7 v Yacouba Camara 8 Navidi built on his breakthrough autumn with an impressive all-court showing in the opening three rounds. Only Scotland skipper John Barclay has won more turnovers that the openside; he is fourth in the tournament tackle count and has also shown up well with ball in hand. Camara has been arguably France’s player of the tournament, a rampaging, dynamic carrier in the loose, his defensive appetite and work at the breakdown has also stood out. Taulupe Faletau 8 v Marco Tauleigne 7 You could swear Faletau had never been away from the international scene as he led Wales to the winning post last weekend. Italy fly-half Tomasso Allan will still be checking he possesses a full complement of ribs and the Lion’s task will be to deliver similar levels of defensive impact against the heavyweight French carriers. There are big things expected of Bordeaux No. 8 Tauleigne, who is another of Brunel’s newcomers to the Test scene. Carried strongly in the win over Italy, not so prominent against England.