The rampant French team duly inflicted a heavy defeat on the beleaguered Welsh outfit. The final score was 12-54 and you were left feeling could have been a lot worse.
Strangely, this was an
improved Welsh performance compared with that against England the previous week
and there were a few encouraging signs. On the positive side, both lineout and
scrum had been strengthened appreciably. The front five looked a much more
solid outfit even though they struggled to contain their French counterparts in the loose at
times.
Wales did have plenty of possession but this is where things looked decidedly off the pace.
The backs were predictable and failed to make any real impression on the well-organised French
defence when they tried to run the ball. The forwards who carried the ball with
the possible exception of Wainwright struggled to get over the gain line. Most
of the time, however, the plan seemed to be to kick the ball up in the air and
hope that the French would make a mistake. This is a dangerous tactic to employ
against a team who have such brilliant attacking runners in the backfield. When
the French decide to move the ball they are absolutely scintillating and they had
the ability to very quickly cut the Welsh defence to ribbons. Not for them is running
the ball into contact but more the use of sidesteps and subtle switches of play
to bamboozle the opposition. Wales were left clutching at shadows too often as
the French showed us their exhilarating brand of rugby. You desperately wanted
Wales to somehow manage to slow the ball down if there was a breakdown to allow
the defence to reform. Perhaps the presence of a genuine openside flanker in
the starting line-up might have helped.
So, yet
another heavy defeat for Wales and a short turn round before they take on Scotland
who will be brimming with confidence after beating England. Italy also continue
to impress and were a little unfortunate to lose in Dublin where they looked
the better team for much of the match. The prospect of another wooden spoon for
Wales looms large.
Will there
be changes to the Welsh team? We really do need an open side flanker to start –
in my eyes Tommy Refell would be the obvious choice but there seems to be no room
for this talented player in the squad. We really do miss Jac Morgan. That aside,
I would not expect major changes as we need to give the current players a
chance to bond and hopefully improve.
The demise
of Wales has shown itself in the large number of empty seats in the stadium on
Sunday. I sat in area normally populated by debenture holders and I was absolutely
surrounded by French fans. When the debenture holders are not taking up their
tickets it clearly reflects the disillusionment of so many fans. The French
seemed dumbfounded by the speed at which Welsh rugby has gone from hero to zero
and it is chastening to hear them feel sorry for us. They are very envious of
our stadium though.
Wales take
on Scotland next Saturday in Cardiff but before that Pontypool visit Cardiff on
Thursday evening for a cup match. After the disappointment of the game lost to
the weather against Carmarthen Quins which was designated as a 0-0 draw, Pooler
have to win in Cardiff to have a chance of progressing to the semi-final.
Come on
Pooler!
Come on
Wales!
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