Townsend’s men face leap of faith for French test
After a cruel end to Slam dream, Wales hope Scotland can help them to the title
AFTER the maddest of matches, the cruellest of conclusions, the weirdest week yet starts for Wales today. A Grand Slam nicked from under their noses at the last possible moment, when Brice Dulin slid in to score the winner with the clock at 8min 3sec, Wales left Paris bereft while the French were beaming.
It took something special for France to deny the serialslamming Welsh a fifth clean sweep in 16 years. But Wales could still end up crowned as champions.
If France do not beat Scotland by 21 points or more and score four tries then the trophy will be adorned with red ribbons.
Captain Alun Wyn Jones (below) could lift it in the lobby of the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel with half the squad due to be playing for their clubs. How apt would that be? This mid-pandemic championship, which produced one of the best games ever seen on Saturday, ending in deafening silence.
‘The boys are understandably devastated,’ said hooker Ken Owens. ‘It’s hugely frustrating. I suppose we have to settle for the second best now, which is the Championship.
‘We had opportunities and didn’t take them. We need to hope Scotland have a big performance against France on Friday. Hopefully we pick up some silverware.’
Skipper Jones could not believe Wales had lost. Up 30-20, after an extraordinary hour in which Dan Biggar, Josh Navidi, Josh Adams, Romain Taofifenua and Antoine Dupont had scored tries, with three penalties for Biggar and two for Romain Ntamack, Wales looked to have it won.
But then the dominoes started to fall. First, Louis Rees-Zammit was denied, albeit correctly, an acrobatic try. Then a penalty try was not given when it might have been when Mohamed Haouas brought down a charging maul.
Biggar, Owens and Jonathan Davies were substituted by Wayne Pivac — in hindsight a bad call. Then Taulupe Faletau was sin-binned, so too was Liam Williams, as Wales conceded penalty after penalty until they were punished by Charles Ollivon’s score.
They gave away eight in a row. Cory Hill was the last culprit, sealing off a ruck with seconds left. Amid scrabbling Welshmen, France conjured the winning try.
‘We’ll have to get the magnifying glass out,’ Jones reflected. ‘There will be a handful of instances which will glare at us when we analyse it. There is no consolation in pride. We came here to win.’ What made it more dramatic was that, for the third time in five games, a Welsh opponent was sent off. Paul Willemse this time, his fingers plunging into Wyn Jones’s eye as he cleared the prop from a ruck. Clear as anything for everyone but French coach Fabien Galthie, who had claimed Jones milked it. ‘The Welsh specialise in opposition red cards. They play their part,’ he said. Owens dismissed that out of hand. ‘All I can do is defend my team-mates. One thing we don’t do is to actively try and get opposition players sent off,’ he said.
That they were part of a match for the ages was no consolation for the Welsh.
‘We had it all in our control and could have decided our own destiny, but didn’t do it,’ added Owens, proud at least of the turnaround from a dismal 2020 in which they lost 10 of 13 Tests.
‘We’ve really grown from last year’s Six Nations and the autumn. It’s a massive stride forward for the future of Welsh rugby.
‘We’re happy with the turnaround in this Six Nations, but we’re here to win rugby matches and championships.’
Legendary lock Jones, who has seen everything during his recordbreaking career, is determined it will be the making of this team.
‘Sometimes those tapes aren’t the ones you chuck in the bin, they are the ones you keep in the memory bank and last a lot longer than the ones you win,’ he said.
There may be champagne to come for Wales, on Friday night or in the future, but for now their bubble has burst.
FRANCE: Dulin 8; Thomas 7, Vakatawa 8, Fickou 8 Penaud 7; Jalibert 7, Dupont 9, Baille 8, Marchand 7, Haouas 6, Taofifenua 7, Willemse 4; Cretin 7, Ollivon 9, Alldritt 7. Replacements: Vincent for Thomas (57), Ntamack for Jalibert (30), Serin for Dupont (74), Gros for Baille (59), Chat for Marchand (69), Rebbadj for R Taofifenua (22), Jelonch for Cretin (51), Atonio for Alldritt (60). WALES: L Williams 7; Rees-Zammit 7, North 7, J Davies 7, Adams 7; Biggar 9, G Davies 7; W Jones 7, Owens 7, Francis 7 Beard 6 A W Jones 8; Navidi 8, Tipuric 8, Faletau 8. Replacements: Halaholo for J Davies (68), Sheedy for Biggar (68), T. Williams for G. Davies (49), Brown for Owens (68), Dee for Francis (68), Hill for Beard (57). Not Used: Smith, Botham. Referee: Luke Pearce (England)