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The XV of France beat the Welsh on Friday in Cardiff (13-9) after a very closed match. They will face the English in eight days at the Stade de France to try to win the Grand Slam.
Eighty minutes: France, victorious over Wales 13 to 9 in Cardiff, Friday March 11, during the 4th day of the 2022 Six Nations Tournament, is only 80 minutes away from a Grand Slam , after which it has been running since 2010. To do this, the Blues will have to beat England, during the last day at the Stade de France on Saturday March 19.
France thus has a seventh victory in a row and is approaching its best series, a series of eight successes, achieved in 2004. Until the end, while a Welsh try would have rocked the match, the defense held. Until the end, the Habs were inflexible.
As usual – since the start of the Tournament, 20% of the points scored by the Blues are scored in the first ten minutes – the XV of France hit hard from the start, with a try from the third line Anthony Jelonch from the 9th minute.
Following a surplus, the Gersois found himself offset on the wing, well served by Gabin Villière and in an ideal position to flatten his second try, after that scored against Italy on the first day, and the 14th of the Blues since the start of the competition.
The first half was punctuated, as was to be expected, by numerous exchanges of kicks between the French and Welsh rears, and in this little game of “I send you, you send me the ball back”, Welsh and French have made equal play.
An iron discipline
The two teams played a very physical match, in an electric atmosphere, Welsh choirs proclaiming “Wales, Wales” against the “Marseillaise” and “Allez les bleus” of the many French spectators.
The Leek XV “makes very few mistakes, it’s a team that gives very few resources to the opponent. On the contrary, as soon as we open up, the Welsh exploit the slightest flaw, they gobble up and manage to score points fairly quickly,” captain Antoine Dupont had warned on Thursday.
Knowing that with a metronome like Dan Biggar on the Welsh side, the slightest mistake is paid for in cash, discipline was one of the keys to the match.
Fortunately, the Blues striker, Melvyn Jaminet, if he had been disturbed at Murrayfield by the wind in particular, was impeccable, both in the reception of the many candles and in his kicks, even if he missed a last penalty in the 77th which could have given the French supporters a little breather.
During the second period, the Welsh tried everything, multiplying the offensives, but did not manage to shake the Blues. Faced with their offensives, the French proved intractable, like winger Gabin Villière who came to snatch a hot ball on the try line of the XV of France.
Until the last minutes, the hermetic, solid French defense showed its seriousness, this desire to win. The Grand Slam is no longer a dream, it is very close.
With AFP
Find below the live follow-up of the match
