Wales win yet again in Paris

Four wins in four years, first win in Paris with Wales for Gatland, and the hope of a championship still on the cards. It doesn't make for a better St David's day morning than that really.

Both teams made changes going into the game (although for France it's the norm), with some interesting changes from the Welsh camp as Scott Baldwin replaced the blonde battering ram that is Richard Hibbard, and the tall "Inspector Gadget" Luke Charteris replacing the bearded Jake Ball. It turned out to be an inspired selection from Warren Gatland, as Wales claimed 100% of their lineout possession and via the uncanny ability of Luke Charteris to wade through the French maul; they effectively nullified one of France's greatest strengths. All through the 6 Nations France have dominated with their pack, be it at scrum time or with the maul, however against Wales it was missing. With Samson Lee forming the corner stone of a Welsh scrum that not only held their own - even against the French "behemoths" - but actually turned on to the offensive winning penalties for the peerless Leigh Halfpenny.

Charteris dominated the lineout and the maul with his long arms

This was a win built upon by the tremendous work completed by the Welsh forwards, securing possession from almost every set piece, something that hasn't been said in a long time, effective ball carrying taking the ball at the blue line. We've touched on the work of the front row already, but the back row were tremendous all afternoon, Sam Warburton had obviously done his pre-match homework as the French repeatedly attempted the short central kickoff and every time the Welsh skipper was there to compete for the ball. Talupe Faletau was fantastic at the back of the scrum, and continued his ever effective ball carrying around the park and that's before you mention that he topped the tackle statistics yet again. Meanwhile Dan Lydiate laid down a marker, replying to all the critics (myself included on occasion), he continued his defensive prowess, and is generally one of the driving forces at the maul (which is beginning to become a powerful weapon), but the questions as to whether he was actually Sonny Bill Williams have arisen. What an offload it was to Dan Biggar to set up the try!

Who needs Sonny Bill?

That try came at the perfect time for not only Wales, but for the match on the whole. The game was poised on a knife edge, with Wales leading by three after enduring a French team that had dominated the opening exchanges via scrum half Morgan Parra. Wales had soaked up the pressure, kept the score difference the same, and had made some incisions. Then George North, returning back to his Lions form, made a big break down the right wing, dragging multiple French defenders into the
breakdown, before swift recycle gave the ball to Rhys Webb. A little stutter from the scrum-half gave him the break as the French ruck-guard switched off and allowed him to dart through the gap. Lydiate provided the initial support, and pulled off an instinctive offload to allow Dan Biggar to arc into the corner for his first try in a Wales shirt. It was an excellent piece of play from four Welsh players that brought the game to life, and France soon returned the favour with their own try by Dulin. But it still felt a little drab from the French, a little unconvincing.

Lopez likes his boot, but missed 9 points

That has been France for years under Saint Andre, unconvincing. They don't seem to have a game plan, or if they do the team doesn't seem to understand it as a whole to implement it properly. The infamous counter-attacking game seems to have been gone as Camille Lopez prefers to use his boot
far too often. Occasionally you see glimpses of the French team that pushed New Zealand in a World Cup Final, and beat Australia in the Autumn, but it is far to sporadic for a team chock full of talent. Wesley Fofana has been practically silent all tournament and Huget who scored tries for fun last year has yet to get on the score sheet. There doesn't seem to be much hope for France at the moment, but with two games left and nothing to play for they might just throw caution to the wind and see what happens; although I find it unlikely. Up next for the French is an Italian that will be full of confidence returning to Rome after a shock victory at Murrayfield.

Schmidt inventing another game-plan?

Meanwhile - after the break - Wales face the tournament favourites Ireland, who are still on for a Grand Slam. It is going to be a fire cracker in Cardiff, but Wales will be up against it. Last year -
under Joe Schmidt - Ireland totally took Wales apart with a lethal kicking game, allowing Ireland to dominate both possession and territory. Wales are a better outfit than they were then, and will be better equipped to deal with the Sexton/Murray kicking game. With Liam Williams having cemented his place in the Wales team, it essentially provides Wales with a second fullback to cover. Since that game last year in Dublin the Welsh pack have developed a strong driving maul, they're very good at defending them too. Also the aerial battle is consistently won by Wales with Biggar, Halfpenny, Williams and Roberts all providing fierce competition for the high ball. It should be noted at this point that Ireland currently have only scored three tries in the tournament, their points coming from the boot of Sexton instead, so should Wales score a try or two they might build a big enough lead to worry the men in green. Wales can win the match at the Millennium in two weeks, however it will certainly be a tight affair and Ireland have grown a habit of winning recently.

Wales XV vs Ireland
15 - Leigh Halfpenny
14 - George North
13 - Jonathan Davies
12 - Jamie Roberts
11 - Liam Williams
10 - Dan Biggar
9 - Rhys Webb
1 - Gethin Jenkins
2 - Scott Baldwin
3 - Samson Lee
4 - Alun Wyn Jones
5 - Luke Charteris
6 - Dan Lydiate
7 - Sam Warburton
8 - Talupe Faletau
(Why change a winning team?)