Six Nations: Wales 16-9 France: World Cup defeat avenged with Grand Slam win

IT WASN’T pretty and it wasn’t a classic, but this epic encounter provided a breathless, compelling conclusion to a Six Nations that will live in the memory as the tournament in which Wales claimed their third Grand Slam in seven years at an exuberant Millennium Stadium.

Dogged, relentless and unstoppable, Wales were allowed to display little of the verve which had characterised their previous four games, but they dug deep and showed character in spades to overwhelm an obdurate but curiously unambitious French side whose gameplan seemed designed to throttle the home side.

Wales, though, were not to be denied. Although it was a close, frenetic game throughout, the outcome was ultimately decided by a moment of magic from 21-year-old wing Alex Cuthbert, whose counterattacking try, in which he carved through a trio of would-be tacklers, exemplified Wales’ attacking approach. By beating France so comprehensively, Wales also laid to rest the ghost of their World Cup semi-final defeat.

Not that it was all plain sailing. After an opening ten minutes in which France were pinned back into their own 22, it was the visitors who took the lead against the run of play when Gethin Jenkins was penalised for a tackle on Imanol Harinordoquy in France’s first foray into Wales’ 22, with Lionel Beauxis adding the points.

If France’s defence was superb and they looked dangerous on the counterattack, it was Wales who were playing all the rugby, and they hit back when the otherwise faultless French skipper Thierry Dusautoir was tackled by the outstanding Dan Lydiate and coughed up the ball. Rhys Priestland quickly spread to Cuthbert, who cut inside and cruised past two French tight forwards and fullback Clement Poitrenaud for a superb opening try, with Leigh Halfpenny adding the extra points.

The next, crucial score also went to Wales when wing Alexis Palisson was caught in possession by Jonathan Davies, Halfpenny taking over the kicking duties after Rhys Priestland’s opening penalty attempt came back off the post, to give Wales a seven-point lead, an advantage which the fullback should have extended with the last kick of the half, only to see a his penalty bounce back off the right-hand post.

The suspicion that those two easy missed penalties would come back to haunt Wales hardened soon after the break as the French drew first blood when Jean-Marcellin Buttin broke out of his own half and Jenkins strayed offside, Beauxis kicking the penalty.

But Wales struck next when Halfpenny knocked over a penalty from just inside his own half, prompting a roar from the crowd which would have raised the roof had it been on.

Yet as long as Wales were only a converted try ahead, losing the Grand Slam was only a missed tackle away. Sure enough, with just under ten minutes to go it almost went pear-shaped when Halfpenny failed to field a towering Beauxis garryowen in his own 22 and, with the Welsh defence in disarray, had Harinordoquy fed Louis Picamoles on his outside rather than cutting inside, the replacement flanker may well have made the corner. Instead, Dimitri Yachvili kicked a penalty in front of the posts.

As the match reached its climax, Wales redoubled their efforts and in the closing stages the Welsh forwards were immense, especially the back row of Toby Faletao, Lydiate and stand-in Ryan Jones. They ground out possession and territory with an impressive determination and patience, and were eventually rewarded when a Halfpenny break was followed by Francois Trinh-Duc throwing the ball away after being bundled into touch, Halfpenny kicking the resulting penalty to reinstate the seven-point lead.

They were never to relinquish that lead, closing out the match with a controlled last five minutes in which Priestland could even have added a drop-goal. When the final whistle went, the feeling of relief in the stadium was as palpable as the sense that last night in Cardiff was going to be a long one.

Scorers: Wales: Try: Cuthbert. Con: Halfpenny. Pens: Halfpenny 3. France: Pens: Beauxis 2, Yachvili.

Wales: L Halfpenny; A Cuthbert, J Davies (S Williams 53-60), J Roberts, G North; R Priestland, M Phillips L Williams 63); G Jenkins, M Rees (K Owens 63), A Jones, AW Jones (L Charteris 63), I Evans, D Lydiate, S Warburton (capt; R Jones 40), T Faletau.

France: C Poitrenaud (JM Buttin 36); W Fofana, A Rougerie, F Fritz, A Palisson (F Trinh-Duc 53); L Beauxis (M Parra, 72), D Yachvili; JB Poux (V Debaty 44), W Servat (D Szarewski 44), D Attoub, P Pae, Y Maestri, T Dusautoir (capt), J Bonnaire (L Picamoles 60), I Harinordoquy.

Referee: C Joubert (South Africa). Attendance: 72,658.