Iain Morrison: On this showing, Wales should shunt aside French to advance to final for the first time

Ahead of this World Cup, Andy Robinson suggested that the prize would be won by the team that made best use of the ball and his words may still prove prophetic, as two of Europe’s most enterprising and entertaining teams will meet in Saturday’s semi-final.

Wales will be heading the Celtic challenge after giving Ireland the Wellington boot yesterday. Warren Gatland’s men have surprised everyone at this tournament, including themselves. The Welsh grew into yesterday’s game and bossed the last 40 minutes with ever increasing authority and self-belief. What’s more they did so with almost no substitutions.

Countless articles have insisted that this is the best conditioned Welsh team to take the field and you didn’t need Sherlock Holmes’ magnifying glass to see the evidence yesterday. While most teams insert a rash of substitutions around the hour mark, Warren Gatland made just two against Ireland. Bradley Davies replaced the injured lock Luke Charteris at half-time and James Hook came on for Rhys Priestland around the 70-minute mark. The other 13 players started and finished the game, which is surely a lesson for all other coaches. If a player is doing his job let him get on with it.

There was nothing lucky about Wales’ three-tries-to-one win but Gatland has been a little fortunate in other respects. Just as Shane Williams shot to prominence as a wing of rare talent in 2003 after travelling to Australia as third choice scrum-half, so too Priestland’s toast has landed jam side up.

After years spent in argument over whether the No.10 shirt should go to Stephen Jones or James Hook, the young Scarlets’ playmaker has emerged from West Wales to snatch it from under their noses. Priestland was scheduled to play full-back in the first of the two warm-up matches against England but Jones injured himself six minutes before kick-off. Priestland tried on the No.10 jersey and evidently liked it so much he decided to keep it. The only worry is his kicking at goal, after the stand off missed with two penalties and one conversion that might have mattered on another day.

Wales have earned themselves a reputation for flair over the years, but this lot are different. Not that the likes of Jonathan Davies, Leigh Halfpenny and Shane Williams can’t turn on the style when needs be, it’s just that this squad have so many more strings to their bow.

They can turn to the bulk of Jamie Roberts and George North to put them on the front foot, the raking kicks of Priestland and Halfpenny turn defence into attack and scrum-half Mike Philips is back to his Lions best after a few uneven seasons. But even those assets pale in comparison to the work Wales do in defence.

They revel in it. They love it, they wallow in the discipline like pigs in mud. The red shirts don’t quite throw the opposition the ball and tell them to come and have a go if they think they’re hard enough, but it isn’t that far from the truth. Wales are eminently comfortable when the opposition has the ball and everyone knows the importance of defence in winning the World Cup.

Just as they did against England in Cardiff before this tournament started, Wales challenged Ireland to beat a defence that would comfortably out-distance the Duracell bunny. It’s almost as if the entire team are comprised of action men who have a quick change of legs to go with their half-time change of shirts. They share more than just the colour of the uniform with the Canadian Mounties because the Welsh defenders won’t rest until they get their man.

They are led by the team captain in this respect as in many others. Warburton famously hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol since the Six Nations.

In fact, a number of this Welsh squad have taken the pledge for the duration and the contrast with England’s players staggering around a nightclub at two in the morning is enough to give even the staggeringly self-serving incompetents at Twickenham who appointed Martin Johnston pause for thought.

Wales made 141 tackles and missed just 11 for a 92 per cent completion rate, as Ireland spent twice as much time in their 22 as Wales spent in Ireland’s. If France are to beat this side they will have to find a way around, under or over the all-enveloping red blanket because no one is going to run through it in a hurry.

The last time these two teams met, France beat Wales 28-9 with something to spare, although that was in Paris and plenty of water has passed under the Pont Neuf since then. France always have at least one big performance at a World Cup and sure enough they produced it right on cue.

Whether they can back up yesterday’s display with another of similar magnitude in the semi-final is the big question, but given the prize on offer it seems highly likely that they will come out smoking on Saturday.

The likes of Thierry Dusautoir and Imanol Harinordoquy are warriors right down to the marrow in their bones but France had the devil about them all over the park yesterday.

Jonathan Davies scored a belter of a try for Wales but he will have his hands full keeping tabs on Maxime Mermoz who has never played better for France. His namesake, fullback Maxime Medard, came into the line like a locomotive and Aurelian Rougerie troubled even Manu Tuilagi with the ball in hand.

The French scrum looked rock solid but Wales have the twin Lions props back in tandem and the set piece is likely to be an even affair. Next Saturday’s semi-final may depend upon who wins the battle of the breakdown and France have no one to match the foraging skills of Warburton on the floor.

They have won just two of their last 11 matches against France, but if Wales can reproduce yesterday’s performance they should become the first Celtic nation to contest a World Cup final regardless of which French team turns up for Saturday’s semi-final.