France wins after suspense against Wales and remains in the running for a Grand Slam

We hadn’t experienced that for ten years. Saturday, February 22, the French rugby team went to win in Wales after an unbearable suspense match and took their revenge after a cruel defeat in the quarterfinals of the last World Cup.

Despite the Welsh score opening on a Biggar penalty (4^e), the French were in front for the rest of the game. The Blues were able to take advantage of their first opportunity to register the first try of the match. After a candle of Ntamack confused by the Welsh defense, Bouthier perfectly felt the blow to dash towards the opposing in-goal (7-3, 7^e). Ntamack and Biggar answered each other's feet (10-6, 26^e), before Willemse went into force to register the second French try of the match, a few minutes after a test rightly refused for a forward from the Blues (17-6, 30^e).

Biggar allowed his family to stay in the loop (17-9, 35^e), and the Welsh were probably thinking of going back to the locker room with a slightly tighter score. But even at 14, after Alldritt's temporary exclusion, the French defense held out for long minutes curled up on their end line, before forcing the Welsh attack on a foul.

Welshers miss match ball

When Alldritt had just found his family, the Welsh finally managed to register their first try of the match, thanks to Lewis, well inspired (17-16, 48^e). But the French barely had time to be afraid that Ntamack made a superb interception and embarked on a solo race of 50 meters to restore eight points to his own (25-16, 52^e). With three new points on penalty, the young Toulousain allowed the Blues to widen the gap a little more than a quarter of an hour from the end (27-16).

But the Welsh never gave up and came back five lengths five minutes from the end on a potentially controversial essay by Biggar (27-23, 75^e). Wayne Pivac's men even thought they were achieving the perfect heist on a final 40-meter breakthrough from Tompkins. But the Welshman was well caught by the French defense, before putting himself at fault by trying to keep the ball on the ground. The Blues had only to hit the key to get their first success on Welsh soil since that of the band at Michalak in 2010.

At the time, the Blues were also already three wins in three games. The French of 2020 still have two meetings to imitate their elders in their quest for the first Grand Slam in ten years.

This will necessarily involve a victory in Scotland in two weeks, before what could well be a week later the grand finale of this 2020 edition, at home, against Ireland.