France’s push for the 2022 Six Nations Championship title will face a tough challenge when they go up against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday night.

Although they are out of the running for honours, Wales are the defending champions and usually lift their standards when playing on their own turf.

After a poor start to the tournament against Ireland in Dublin, Wayne Pivac‘s outfit bounced back with a deserved win over Scotland in their backyard.

They started slowly in their next match, against England, and despite improving as that game progressed, it wasn’t enough and they had to settle for their second defeat in three Tests, which means they currently occupy fifth position in the standings – although Scotland are only above them due to a superior points difference.

With Wales being back in Cardiff it means France can expect a full onslaught from their hosts, although Les Bleus will be confident of retaining their unbeaten status as they have held the upper hand in this fixture in recent years.

France have won the last three matches between the sides and although they wracked up a big victory during an Autumn Nations Cup warm-up clash at the end of 2020, it’s been a different kettle of fish in the Six Nations where they claimed narrow triumphs in 2020 and 2021.

Les Bleus have made tremendous strides since finishing in second place during last year’s Six Nations. They used plenty of their reserve players on a tour to Australia and despite suffering a 2-1 series defeat to the Wallabies, there were plenty of positives gained on that trip which has come in handy in subsequent Tests. Amongst those positives was the emergence of inexperienced players like Gabin Villiere, Cameron Woki and Melvyn Jaminet, who have all gone on to cement their places in France’s first choice side.

After those Tests in Australia, Les Bleus went on a winning run during their end-of-year internationals with the highlight being their 40-25 victory over the All Blacks in Paris – a result which boosted their confidence ahead of the Six Nations. Fabien Galthie and his troops have reaped the rewards with wins over Italy, Ireland and Scotland and they will be determined to retain their unbeaten status with another triumph against Wales.

Last time they met

The previous encounter between these sides – in Paris last year – was a real humdinger with the result up for grabs until the game’s dying moments. The match was played at a frenetic pace from start to finish with Wales holding a slight edge throughout until a late charge from Les Bleus secured them a 32-30 triumph and, in doing so, they also denied the visitors the Grand Slam. For France, Romain Taofifenua, Antoine Dupont, Charles Ollivon and Brice Dulin scored tries with the rest of their points coming via conversions from Matthieu Jalibert (2) and Romain Ntamack, who also succeeded with a couple of penalties. Dan Biggar led the way for Wales with a 20-point haul courtesy of three penalties, a try and three conversions while Josh Adams and Josh Navidi also crossed the whitewash.

What they said

Wales defence coach Gethin Jenkins believes his team will have to deliver their best performance of the tournament if they want to beat Les Bleus.

“They have got some big forwards, some big players and some dangerous players,” he said. “We are going to have to step up physically and meet them face to face.

“It is going to be a big test of us, a bigger test physically than the three (teams) we have probably faced. That’s taking nothing away from the three we have faced, it’s just a different animal and where they are going to come with their threats.

“They have scored a lot of tries off turnovers. Our reactions have to be quick.

“A big part of it is playing in the right areas and not playing not too much rugby in our own half. They have got a good system defensively, and when they do turn the ball over they do try to shift it quite a bit and get some tries.

“Hopefully, we can cut down the amount of times they get to do that.”

Despite going into this match as favourites, France head coach Galthie is wary of his opponents who have a rich rugby history.

“Wales? Wonderful team, wonderful stadium: 80,000 spectators, the people who accompany you from the bus to the changing rooms, the Welsh choirs, the pre-match show, all this takes you, gives you goosebumps,” he said.

“We are in the best of rugby, in a nation that has few inhabitants but invents rugby players by the hundreds. With Raphaël (Ibanez), we were brought up on the generation of Gareth Edwards, Barry John, JPR Williams… Friday night, we have an appointment with the sublime and wonderful.”

Players to watch

Although back-rowers like Ross Moriarty, Taine Basham and Jac Morgan gave a good account of themselves in previous Tests, the return of the experienced Taulupe Faletau and Josh Navidi will be reassuring for Wales’ supporters. Faletau was back in Test action against England and although Wales lost that game, it was not through a lack of effort from the 31-year-old, who gained 61 attacking metres from 13 carries and also caught the eye on defence with 19 tackles during an 80-minute stint. A similar effort from Navidi will be heaven-sent to Wales and although it is a big ask, don’t be surprised if he delivers the goods as he always gives his all for his country. A recurring shoulder injury has kept him on the sidelines for most of the past 12 months but his excellent defence and superb breakdown work means he could play a prominent role in this game’s outcome.

Another player who will be under plenty of scrutiny is tighthead prop Tomas Francis, who has been included in Wales’ starting line-up despite issues around a head injury assessment (HIA) in his team’s previous match against England. Francis was forced off the field in the 20th minute after banging heads with team-mate Owen Watkin but despite appearing to be concussed, the front-row returned to the fray and played until midway through the second half. He has been passed fit to play against France despite misgivings from some quarters and it will be interesting to see how he fares in the forward exchanges which are usually brutal and very competitive.