WALES v FRANCE: 6 Nations International Championship

28.02.2015

Venue: Parc de France, Paris

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Preview
Neither team has performed in any way memorable so far in this competition. France has managed one try in two games whilst Wales were bruised in their loss to England and struggled for most of the game against Scotland.

The team that loses would almost certainly be out on any contention of a 6 Nations title. For Wales that would be a major let down after those memorable title wins in 2012 and 2013.

This could well be an opportunity for either side (or perhaps both) to shake off the lethargy and produce a great game of rugby. Let’s hope so.

Previous Encounters
21.02.2014 Wales 27-6 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
09.02.2013 Wales 16-6 in Paris (6 Nations)
17.03.2012 Wales 16-9 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
15.10.2011 France 9-8 in Auckland (World Cup, Semi-final)
19.03.2011 France 28-9 in Paris (6 Nations)

Wales Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
14.02.2015 v Scotland W 26-23 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v England L 16-21 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
29.11.2014 v South Africa W 12-6 in Cardiff
22.11.2014 v New Zealand L 16-34 in Cardiff
15.11.2014 v Fiji W 17-13 in Cardiff

France Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
14.02.2015 v Ireland L 11-18 in Dublin (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v Scotland W 15-8 in Paris (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v Argentina L 13-18 in Paris
15.11.2014 v Australia W 29-26 in Paris
08.11.2014 v Fiji W 40-15 in Marseille

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table- Wales 3rd, France 11th
Europe Table- Wales 3rd, France 4th

IRB Ranking Points
Wales 81.71, France 80.27

Prediction: Wales by 3 points

France
15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Wesley Fofana,
11 Sofiane Guitoune, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly,
7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Romain Taofifenua, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements
16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Uini Atonio, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Jocelino Suta, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Head Coach: Philippe Saint-André

Wales
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 James Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Danial Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau,
7 Samuel Warburton, (Capt.) 6 Daniel Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins. 
Replacements
16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Bradley Davies,
20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Michael Phillips, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.

Head Coach: Warren Gatland