Rugby Union: Wales 16 vs 9 France Six Nations Match Report

Wales completed a historic third Grand Slam in seven years by beating France in Cardiff to win this year€™s Six Nations. Let us know your thoughts on the game either in the comments below or on Twitter @BallinTouch Super Saturday continued with an atmospheric Millennium Stadium brimming with expectation of another Welsh Grand Slam and hope that France didn€™t beat them like they did at their last meeting at the World Cup. The French had requested the roof be kept open, meaning the pitch was slick and inviting to handling errors. When Beauxis pinged a drop goal attempt low and wide in the opening seconds, the way the ball skimmed across the grass made it clear how wet the ground was. Nonetheless, Wales started the game as they had for the whole tournament, trying to play. Jonathan Davies made some inroads to test the French defence, but a series of knock-ons ended any potential chances developing for both sides. The French had made it clear they were happy to play ten man rugby, a French line out and maul leading to Yachvili kicking a penalty providing evidence of this. With Halfpenny struggling slightly with an injury, Priestland€™s penalty attempt bounced off the post to deny the hosts their first points, but they didn€™t have to wait long. A turn over by the excellent Dan Lydiate saw the ball shipped wide to Alex Cuthbert, who cut against the grain to weave in between a couple of slipping tacklers to score the try, the recovered Halfpenny converting. France maddeningly seemed happy to let Wales tire themselves out through attacking, the Welsh already tripling the pass count of their opponents at the thirty minutes mark. Beside the occasional moment, France did not appear confident in their own abilities. The French side everyone had feared appeared not to have arrived in Cardiff yet. The rush defence of Jonathan Davis gave Halfpenny another three points, the ball having gone loose when Beauxis€™ pass bounced off the centre and the kick race ended in the French not releasing. Both sides increasingly looked to the boot when possession came their way as niggling penalties and errors stopped any real momentum growing. A charge down by Ian Evans almost gave Halfpenny his next three points when the scrambling French defence strayed offside but it was his turn now to hit the post and the score remained at 10-3 to Wales. The second half started with Alex Cuthbert making another break ripe with potential but it was the follow up efforts of French replacement Buttin that proved more profitable, his kick through garnering Beauxis the chance to remind everyone he was still on the pitch, closing the gap to four points with a penalty against Gethin Jenkins. Desperate to avoid anonymity it was Beauxis again with another failed drop goal as the French seemed content to chip away with kicks rather than score some tries. Dusautoir threw Jamie Roberts to the ground to slam shut the chance of an overlap when the ball went loose, as the game started to fragment and France started to sniff opportunities. However when Fofana conceded a penalty just inside the Welsh half, Halfpenny settled the nerves again with a monster kick. A cross field kick at a penalty almost saw Buttin sneak in as France started to up their game as, not for the first time, they realised they could lose the game at their current rate. With the significance of the occasion looming with every passing minute, the tension was growing amongst the Welsh side who reverted to a more structured and patient game. Wales managed to stay in the right parts of the field as a result. Another kick by Beauxis, this time an up and under meant Fritz was almost free to run in but for the second bounce of the ball. A frantic few phases gave France the scrum ten metres from the Welsh line and a penalty conceded straight away by Wales was kicked by France to take the margin again to only four points. When the ball broke favourably for Wales, Trinh-Duc gathered a punt downfield but was carried into touch near his own line. Stupidly he threw the ball away to deny a quick lineout meaning Halfpenny extended the lead back to seven. Barely two minutes remained when Priestland failed with a drop goal attempt of his own, the decibel levels mounting with every second within the ground. Try as they might, France could not wrestle the ball from Wales as they kept it tight within the forwards, desperately willing the clock to tick down. As the clock turned to 80, the French patience broke and they infringed at the ruck. Priestland ignored the chance to extend the winning margin, instead finding row z and letting the celebrations begin. With Wales and Lions legend Mervyn Davies having lost his battle to cancer yesterday, it was a fitting tribute to him that this Welsh side would win the Grand Slam in such imperious fashion. All the talk in the previous weeks had been about the youthful giants of this Welsh backline, but it was the collective efforts of the whole side that won the game and the Six Nations trophy. The backrow was immense yet again, the loss of Sam Warburton to another injury more than made up by a monumental effort by Dan Lydiate, who must surely win player of the tournament. For the diminished impression George North had today, Alex Cuthbert made up for it, scoring a superb try and looking a lot more threatening than he should for one so new to Test rugby. Jonathan Davis was another contender for Man of the Match, whilst the front row of Jenkins, Rees and Jones provided a bedrock for those behind them to put in a sterling effort full of hard work and patience. When it wasn€™t on, they kicked the ball deep and let the French deal with it. When the opportunity arose they charged into space and looked to capitalise constantly, some awesome French defence and a slippy ball being the main obstacles. The French side for yet another match showed only glimpses of their quality. Too often this tournament it was the prospect of losing that spurred them on, rather than the outright effort to win. The defence was generally solid but the discipline was slack and punished by the boot of Halfpenny. The young fullback has cemented the 15 shirt with a series of calm displays at the back and this was another to be proud of. The French side seemed to be suffering from a case of serial negativity, the continued selection of Beauxis at fly half demonstrating a lack of attacking intent. Players like Dusautoir and Harinordiquoy seemed lost and wasted at times as there seemed to be no ideas of what to do to score tries. The biggest try threat they had, Fofana, had been shunted to the wing for this game and you could tell, such was the lack of genuine moments of excitement when France got the ball. With Rougerie and several others playing their final game for France before retiring, there was a feeling of anti-climax from the French. At no point did you feel they were looking to go out with a bang and it will not be a game to remember for them. But the day belongs to Wales. Gatland has worked wonders with a young squad, bringing in players with potential and turning it into talent. Throughout the Six Nations they have worked hard and most importantly for each other. The team spirit is clear to see and bodes well for Welsh involvement in next year€™s Lion Tour. With the champagne flowing freely the atmosphere in Cardiff was electric as the celebrations got under way and no doubt a great party awaited the men in red. Wales are Six Nations champions and most importantly, Grand Slam winners. WALES (10) 16 Try: Cuthbert Con: Halfpenny Pens: Halfpenny 3 FRANCE (3) 9 Pens: Yachvili 2, Beauxis TEAM LINE-UPS Wales : 15- Halfpenny, 14- Cuthbert, 13-Davies, 12-Roberts, 11-North, 10-Priestland, 9-Phillips; 1-Jenkins, 2-Rees, 3-Adam Jones, 4-Alun Wyn Jones, 5-Evans, 6-Lydiate, 7-Warburton (c), 8-Faletau. Replacements: 16-Owens, 17-James, 18-Charteris, 19-Ryan Jones, 20-Lloyd Williams, 21-James Hook, 22-Scott Williams.