Biggar left annoyed as France close in on Slam

WALES captain Dan Biggar said he was “annoyed” by France’s narrow Friday night Cardiff victory that left Les Bleus within touching distance of a first Guinness Six Nations title and Grand Slam since 2010.

France overcame Wales 13-9 at the Principality Stadium as the defending Six Nations champions lost for the third time in four games this season.

Victory over England in Paris this week will confirm France as European champions, but Biggar felt Wales should have ended their visitors’ Grand Slam quest.

Fly-half Biggar, who kicked Wales’s nine points, said: “I’m annoyed really is the bottom line, that we haven’t picked up certainly one win in the last two games

“I’m frustrated, annoyed, disappointed – all those things.

“We said in the huddle after the game that we could have nicked it in Twickenham a couple of weeks ago, coming back after not starting well.

“I thought tonight we were the better team against the best team in the world at the moment.

“Big Test matches hinge on one or two big moments. We didn’t quite nail ours and France took theirs.”

Wales saw their own 2021 Grand Slam hopes ended by France in a heartbreaking 32-30 Paris defeat.

This campaign has been far more of a struggle for a Welsh side who head into the final weekend with only one win – against Scotland – under their belts.

But Biggar said: “You know when you play well and you know when you play poorly.

“We played very poorly on the opening weekend in Dublin, and we’ve certainly got better as the tournament has gone on.

“We were one score away from beating France, we were one score away from beating England.

“That’s annoying and frustrating.

“But there’s no doubt we’re in a much better place than when we kicked off against Ireland in Dublin.

“We’ve got to make sure we come here next Saturday, do a good job on Italy, and finish the campaign on a high.”

Biggar could win his 100th Wales cap against bottomplaced Italy in Cardiff.

Alun Wyn Jones, Test rugby’s most capped player with 161 appearances for Wales and the British and Irish Lions, is also set to feature against the Azzurri after undergoing shoulder surgery in the autumn.