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The full match report is in, so I’ll take my leave. Thanks for your emails and company. On to round three next weekend!
Dewi Lake is offering thoughts
“I guess it’s a step forward, we were a lot better than last week, but there’s still lots to work on. Our kick chase needs work. It’s always a privilege to pull the jersey on and that will never change, that’s where the morale comes from. [On the low attendance] It’s our job to make people want to come and watch games, and at the minute we’re not getting results, all I can ask is that they come along on the journey with us and support us, we want to get better.”
ShareFULL TIME! Wales 12 – 54 France.
80 mins. France have the ball on the Wales 10m line, but foot in touch ends the match with a resounding victory for Les Bleus.
ShareTRY! Wales 12 – 54France (Mason Grady)
78 mins. James hammers towards the line from the lineout but is stopped short. This prompts a few drives from the forwards that are stopped before Plumtree is held up over the line. HOwever, there were repeated offside by France and on the tap and go from the penalty the ball reaches Grady via Rees-Zammit for a consolation score.
Evans misses the conversion.
75 mins. Elias loses it forward on the ground and this allows France to spring left, but Bielle-Biarrey takes a turn to fumble it. Wales win a penalty at the scrum and this will go to into the French 22.
72 mins. Wales find themselves in the French 22, but it’s all a terrible combination of frantic and tired, with the inevitable loss of possession coming this time from Wainwright. He’s practically run his moustache off in this match, so it’s no surprise he’s knackered.
69 mins. The game is ramshackle as you like at this stage due to France no longer giving a proverbial, and Wales trying anything from everywhere – to little success. The stadium sounds like a library on a sponsored silence.
68 mins. Jalibert tickles and angled grubber toward Attissogbe’s corner, but he can’t get it down under pressure from Adams and the ball goes forward
65 mins. Wales are punching with more purpose into midfield via James again as well as Plumtree. The offload from Elias goes to ground just as the attack looks to be getting in behind the blue defence. It’s inevitable that the home side have to force it more now.
63 mins. Eddie James has a couple of strong runs up the left and some quick ball and phases afterwards have France scrambling. The ball is returned to James who has drive to the line but is stopped short before Adams loses it forward as he tries to pick and go from a metre out.
ShareTRY! Wales 7 – 54 France (Charles Ollivon)
60 mins. Serin is on, and he sells an outrageous dummy on a Wales chaser on the restrart that allows him to race 30 metres. A few phases later Ollivon is forcing over from a couple of metres out.
Ollivon dives for the line to score another try. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 11.40 EST
58 mins. Let’s not forget, Wales don’t even have a full-time permanent defence coach, which may explain why the pattern wasn’t great.
ShareTRY! Wales 7 – 47 France (Theo Attissogbe)
57 mins. Another close-in lineout from France is mauled, but held this time by Wales. Dupont flings it to Jalibert who simply hoists it with the boot to Attissogbe who is all alone on the right wing due to the shockingly narrow alignment of the home defensive pattern.
Ramos converts.
Attissogbe scores the seventh try for France. Photograph: Kieran McManus/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 11.39 EST
53 mins. Another visit to the 22 for France, but Wales do enough to force a knock-on. The home side work it away from the scum to the left and it very quickly becomes a hot mess under French breakdown pressure. But Gailleton is too keen in making a tackle while already on the floor and that gives a fortuitous relieving penalty to Wales.
50 mins. There will be a lot of talk about the finishing of that last try, and rightly so, but the real magic that made it was Ramos immediately returning the ball to Bielle-Biarrey. Very few players would have the nous to know that there was space back on the wing as the defence raced towards him, and then the moxie to dolly an overheard pass back there.
He’s a remarkable rugby player.
ShareTRY! Wales 7 – 40 France (Theo Attissogbe)
49 mins. Bielle-Biarrey takes a kick and chucks it to Ramos who as the defence bite on him he very quickly lobs it back to the winger who is immediately in space and running. He looks inside to his opposite winger who has tracked across to receive the pass and race over.
Ramos adds two.
Attissogbe scores their sixth try. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 11.38 EST
47 mins. Wales finally have some pace on the ball and their runners after a strong France carry puts them into the French half. They move it to the right quickly for Wainwright to move through a gap, but he doesn’t have the gas to get away from the cover and the next phase has the ball spilled forward.
A glimmer, and no more.
ShareTRY! Wales 7 – 33 France (Julien Marchand)
44 mins. Wales’s defence is the most notably improved thing as this game has progressed, and they look to be containing another French attack before Cracknell clacks Dupont late after the ball is well gone.
From the lineout, it’s a textbook catch and drive for Marchand to ground in the right corner from the rear of the maul.
42 mins. Ball in hand is contained the middle third for both sides in the opening exchanges, before some back and forth with the boot ends with a France lineout give on halfway.
ShareSecond Half!
Wales receive the ball and the game is back on.
Wales certainly improved as the half went on, but given their relative performance compared to the opposition, that’s like saying a 2009 Vauxhall Corsa improved in a race with a TGV train because someone put some tape over the oil leak.
Make no mistake, the gulf in ability between these teams is too big for even Donald Trump to rename, and arguably France are making harder work of this than they need to.
ShareHalf Time!
40+1 mins. Wales have possession around halfway after 10 phases. The ball is overrun out wide and Guillard clamps on to win a penalty. Jalibert has mercy on the home side and decides to tap it to end the half rather than have another attack.
Updated at 11.00 EST
TRY! Wales 7 – 26 France (Mathieu Jalibert)
39 mins. You’ll go a long way to see a try as stupid as this. Cracknell wins a great turnover on the Wales 22 at the ruck and the ball spills to Beard who decides to kick it. He had neither the space nor the skill to do such a thing and it bounces off Jalibert who gathers it to stroll in from 20 metres.
Jalibert breaks away to go on and score. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 11.07 EST
37 mins. Dupont takes the ball from lineout on a loop, straightens up and rams forward into the 22. It looks like trouble for Wales, but they are let off the hook by a French knock-on.
35 mins. More French possession around the 22 leads to an angled kick towards Bielle-Biarrey’s wing, but Rees-Zammit covers it and the Wales defence regroup for Williams to kick clear.
33 mins. Williams takes a quick tap on halfway for Rees-Zammit to have a run with. He’s hauled down on the 10m line and as the home side move it back to the left they arae isolated in a ruck and lose the ball to a turnover penalty.
31 mins. Another kick is too long to Bielle-Biarrey, who offloads to Dupont to race up the left touchline. Wales scramble as best they can and two phases later Dupont chips over the top for Attissogbe to gather under pressure to ground.
But wait! The celebrations are cut short as the TMO has spotted the winger was standing miles in front of Dupont when he kicked. Offside! No Try!
28 mins. The story of Wales’s half so far, aside from France’s tries, is every kick being slightly too long for their chasers to compete for, which allows France loose ball to work their magic with.
The latest example is Tomos Williams booting an angled kick into the 22, to no-one other than Bielle-Biarrey.
25 mins. A juggling take from Ramos from a Williams bomb is popped to Jalibert who finds Bielle-Biarrey in space. The familiar willingness to keep the ball alive and move it all way left-to-right results in some more territory before Wales manage to halt it.
The loose ball finds Rees-Zammit who is very nearly away before being tackled by Cros. The ball ends up in touch where a bit of a scuffle ensues. Nothing to see here, Wales will have a lineout.
22 mins. Excellent drills from Wales to exit from an awkward defensive scrum via a Hawkins carry then a long touchfinder from Williams.
20 mins. A coach killer for Tandy as Wales mess up the restart to allow France the ball in the 22. The ominous attack clouds gather once more, but the red defence is far better organised than previously and this, plus some aggression from James, forces a knock on.
ShareTRY! Wales 7 – 19 France (Rhys Carre)
18 mins. A gift from the kick-off for Wales as France allow Mee to get up and regather the ball to gallop into the 22. The red shirts swarm and start hammering carries at the French line before Beard heaves over to be called held up.
There was a penalty in backplay, however, and a simple tap and drive has Carre smashing his considerable weight over the line.
Edwards converts.
Carre of Wales forces the ball over the line to score a try. Photograph: Kian Abdullah/Huw Evans/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 10.36 EST
TRY! Wales 0 – 19 France (Fabien Brau‑Boirie)
15 mins. Bielle-Biarrey steps around Lake out left like he’s been nailed to the floor. The next phase moves swiftly right to new centre Brau-Boirie to drift on the outside shoulder of James, open up his legs and score France’s third try.
Ramos converts.
Fabien Brau‑Boirie scores a try. Photograph: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 10.35 EST
Stephen Roach emails from Saigon.
“As Max Boyce said ‘They don’t come and see me when I’m bad’”.
Quite.
ShareTRY! Wales 0 – 12 France (Louis Bielle-Biarrey)
11 mins. There was a penalty for Wales not rolling away earlier in the attack and the resulting lineout has Jalibert with all the time in the world to cross-kick to Bielle-Biarrey in a Bannau Brycheiniog of space on the left to score.
Bielle-Biarrey of France scores. Photograph: Simon King/ProSports/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 10.34 EST
10 mins. Jalibert takes the ball on a loop play and this is enough to create an overlap on the right for Attisogbe to accelerate into. He races towards the line but is held up as a bevvy of red and blue shirt converge on him.
8 mins. France are up to the 22 through mainly carrying straight and hard at too passive Wales defence. The scramble is good enough however for Mee to snaffle the ball out wide, but he’s soon scragged into touch.
5 mins. A hanging Edwards kick is dropped by Jalibert, but it went backwards and so Attissogbe can tidy it up around halfway. Wales are soon back on the ball with Edwards again kicking deep; way too deep as it bobbles dead.
The first try was in some measure due to missed tackles and then another basic error is made with that kick. Unforgivable, really.
ShareTRY! Wales 0 – 7 France (Emilien Gailleton)
2 mins. Dupont kicks the ball back to Wales for Rees-Zammit to have a run with it. There’s a couple of inconsequential phases before a box kick is hoisted to be won by Bielle-Biarrey. The ball is moved to the right via most of the French players before Dupont pops a delicious pass to Attissogbe who breaks free, feeds Ollivon who dollies a pass to Gailleton to trot in.
Ramos adds two.
Gailleton breaks away from Williams of Wales to score a try. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 10.17 EST
Kick Off!
Dan Edwards puts his young foot through the ball and we are underway.
Jeremy Boyce is in positive spirit.
“Last Monday you were all writing off the Celtic countries after all three lost their opening matches and bigging up England’s Slam credentials. A week is a short time in rugby/sport/politics and how things have changed. Not only did Ireland get back to winning ways, the Scots did one on England and it perfectly sets up this afternoon’s dawning of Wales’ brand new era, with a “jamais deux sans trois” (if it happens twice it will happen three times) victory over the reigning champions France. Either way, two of the best national songs going before a ball is kicked/pass thrown. I’ll be watching.”
The teams are on their way, led by Charles Ollivon and Julien Marchand on the occasion of their 50th cap. As predicted, there are a lot of empty seats.
There’s just been a section of the coverage where fans on the street of Cardiff gave a series of interviews of increasing desperation regarding their hopes for the game in Wales. It’s incredibly sad to see and hear, then made worse by a WRU board member following it up with a series of mealy mouthed non-statements.
Updated at 10.04 EST
After that defeat yesterday, what next for England?
It could a long afternoon if you are Welsh, is there anyone out there holding out some hope, or is it all being watched from between your fingers? Let me know this or anything else on the email.
ShareTeams
Steve Tandy despatches Ben Thomas from the starting line-up, with Joe Hawkins returning to the 12 shirt. In the forwards Rhys Carre is back at prop, joined by Tomas Francis after his stint of non-selection due to playing in France.
Injuries and withdrawals for France bring a new centre partnership of Emilien Gailleton and Fabien Brau‑Boirie, replacing Moefana and Depoortere from last week’s Ireland win.
Wales
Louis Rees‑Zammit; Ellis Mee, Eddie James, Joe Hawkins, Josh Adams; Dan Edwards, Tomos Williams; Rhys Carre, Dewi Lake, Tomas Francis; Dafydd Jenkins, Adam Beard; Aaron Wainwright, Alex Mann, Olly Cracknell.
Replacements: Ryan Elias, Nicky Smith, Archie Griffin, Ben Carter, Taine Plumtree, Kieran Hardy, Jarrod Evans, Mason Grady.
France
Thomas Ramos; Louis Bielle‑Biarrey, Emilien Gailleton, Fabien Brau‑Boirie, Theo Attissogbe; Matthieu Jalibert, Antoine Dupont; Jean‑Baptiste Gros, Julien Marchand, Dorian Aldegheri; Charles Ollivon, Mickael Guillard; Francois Cros, Oscar Jegou, Anthony Jelonch.
Replacements: Maxime Lamothe, Rodrigue Neti, Régis Montagne, Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Lenni Nouchi, Baptiste Serin, Noah Nene.
SharePreamble
Who likes Disney sports movies? I’m partial to them myself on occasion. Sometimes the soul needs the warming elixir that can only be found in tales of bringing interracial harmony and victory to early 1970’s high school football, Mark Walhlberg being Mark Wahlberg but this time as a barman playing the NFL, or some plucky college and semi-pro hockey players defeating all of communism. Other inspirational narratives are also available.
How Wales would welcome some Disneyfication of their experience today. Trouble is these films are not documentaries, instead much of the content is “inspired” by real events; the rarity of an underdog not being absolutely lamped is that what makes the tales such a salve to the mood.
But that little glimmer of you-never-know-ism is what has fans returning despite the absolute dreck in front of them. Judging by the terrible ticket sales for this afternoon in Cardiff, fewer and fewer Wales fans can find that glimmer amidst the asphyxiating smoke of despair coming from the blaze started by their own governing body’s arson. Conversely, France arrive on the back of their most promising performance in nearly a year, with riches of squad and vibe burnished by England’s form yesterday opening the Grand Slam door.
You never know, they might make a movie about this result one day. Probably a YouTube one called “Rugby’s Greatest Hammerings, No 26”.