WALES
No.Name
15Lee Byrne, FB
14Leigh Halfpenny, W
T
13James Hook, C
12Jamie Roberts, C
11Shane Williams, W
T
10Stephen Jones, FH
2
2
9Richie Rees, SH
1Paul James, P
2Huw Bennett, H
3Adam Jones, P
4Bradley Davies, L
5Deiniol Jones, L
6Jonathan Thomas, FL
7Martyn Williams, FL
8Ryan Jones, N8
Replacements
16Ken Owens, -
17Rhys Gill, -
18Luke Charteris, L
19Sam Warburton, -
20Mike Phillips, -
21Andrew Bishop, -
22Tom Shanklin, -

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Principality Stadium
3:00 PM, February 26, 2010
Attendance: 74,102
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

82'20-26 End of half
81'20-26 End of half
81'+120-26 End of second half
80'France kick off and the match ends with France still unbeaten. A game of two halfs and that second half performance by the visitors will encourage England who they are still to meet. I hope you enjoyed the match and see you next time with scrum.com
80'20-26 Conversion - Stephen Jones , Wales
80'18-26 Try - Shane Williams , Wales
78'TRY Wales still trying and making another good attack and Shane Williams gathers the ball and zippes in to score near the posts.
78'13-26 Penalty goal - Morgan Parra , France
78'Substitute on - Marc Andreu , France
78'Player substituted - Clement Poitrenaud , France
77'The Welsh crowd are quiet again - I am sure they feel their moment has gone. Penalty to France in front of the posts.
76'The French are keeping it in the forwards with Chabal taking it on. Michalak tries a drop goal - but it hits the pads of the posts and the ball is cleared to touch.
75'Substitute on - Dimitri Szarzewski , France
75'Player substituted - William Servat , France
73'Wales have made 21 mistakes while France have had 13 - that is quite a difference.
72'13-23 Penalty goal - Frederic Michalak , France
71'France get a penalty - and boy do they need it. Frederic Michalak, now on, is going for the kick and he scores - and that MAY be the deciding moment - but I wouldn't bet on it!
70'Player substituted - Dimitri Szarzewski , France
70'Substitute on - William Servat , France
70'Player substituted - Imanol Harinordoquy , France
70'Substitute on - Alexandre Lapandry , France
70'Player substituted - Mathieu Bastareaud , France
70'Substitute on - David Marty , France
69'Talk about a game of two halfs! Is it that France have gone to sleep or Wales have upped their game?
68'Another penalty to Wales - in their own half. Again they miss touch - terrible.
67'The crowd are singing - the Welsh don't seem to want to make life easy - what with the English then Scots match - now this one - phew!
66'The Welsh are really up for it - while the French are being French and falling mentally apart.
66'Substitute on - Sebastien Chabal , France
66'Player substituted - Julien Pierre , France
65'Yellow card - Morgan Parra , France
64'Scrum-half Morgan Parra is sin-binned for France
64'Player substituted - Francois Trinh-Duc , France
64'Substitute on - Frederic Michalak , France
63'13-20 Conversion - Stephen Jones , Wales
62'TRY Ball moved wide left to winger Leigh Halfpenny who runs really well to score in the corner from the 22.
62'11-20 Try - Leigh Halfpenny , Wales
60'Another penalty to Wales - tap and go.
59'The French are starting to be a bit silly. What they need to do is calm it down and play set pieces and get back their rhythm.
57'Another penalty to Wales. - and what a mistake by Lee Byrne - going for the corner - an easy kick - and he kicked it dead - what a waste!
56'Another penalty for Wales - just outside Leigh Halfpenny's range.
55'The French are not panicking, but they do need to get their hands on the ball for a few phases.
55'Substitute on - Jean-Baptiste Poux , France
55'Player substituted - Thomas Domingo , France
53'It has been all Wales so far this half. Jamie Roberts is seeing much more ball as the Welsh take it up the middle.
52'Player substituted - William Servat , France
52'Substitute on - Dimitri Szarzewski , France
51'Wales have renewed hope. France are giving away penalties - not a good sign.
50'6-20 Penalty goal - Stephen Jones , Wales
49'Another penalty for Wales - Jones scores again - chipping away.
47'The French biggest fault will be if they take it easy. Momentum is very important in rugby and difficult to get back once lost.
46'3-20 Penalty goal - Stephen Jones , Wales
45'Stephen Jones going for the posts to get Wales' first points - and he does. It is a start.
43'Great break by Wales - Hook hacked on Shane Williams kick - gathers but has to pass to lock Luke Charteris who can't hold on to the ball. Perhaps Lazarus is on the bench!
41'I think the Welsh will need more that just Lazarus!
41'0-20 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
41'0-18 Try - Francois Trinh-Duc , France
41'+10-20 End of first half
40'As the BBC's Sports Presenter John Inverdale just said: "If Wales have Lazarus on the bench it may be an interesting second half!"
40'TRY The Welsh get the ball and Shane Williams goes down the wing passes infield and French fly-half François Trinh-Duc gathers, eventually, and scores under the posts for the second intercept try of the half.
40'0-20 Start of second half
39'The Welsh are starting to look tired and despondent.
36'The Welsh are struggling in the contact area - the French seem to be slowing down Welsh ball or making it untidy.
34'The French pack is starting to look a really good unit - capable of taking the French to the World Cup - and doing well in New Zealand.
31'The French full-back Clement Poitrenaud can be brilliant but also terrible. He just put an up and under up that very nearly went backwards.
29'The French in their blitz defence also use an umbrella defence to stop the Welsh moving the ball out wide to the wingers.
27'As I said at the beginning the first 20 minutes would be vital and the French have taken control - it will be a long night for the Welsh.
27'0-13 Penalty goal - Morgan Parra , France
25'The Welsh are being starved of the ball and so are committing fouls in desperation to get it.
25'Player substituted - Deiniol Jones , Wales
25'Substitute on - Luke Charteris , Wales
23'The French are putting a huge effort in defence. It is a blitz but also individual players move quickly further forward if they see a chance to get a big tackle in.
21'First real cheer for Wales as fly-half Stephen Jones makes an arching break - kick ahead - the French deal with it.
20'The crowd are quiet - they need to raise their spirits - and the teams.
20'0-10 Penalty goal - Morgan Parra , France
19'Bastareaud has had a couple of runs and James Hook has lined up both times to tackle. It was thought that Roberts might take the defensive line against the big 21 year-old - but not yet.
17'The two French props are great - and real throw backs to yester-year. Really no necks - no legs either - just bodies to scrummage the $%^* out of the opposition.
15'The South African ref is talking to both front rows.
14'The French are very efficient - not inspiring in general at the moment - but growing in to a team. If they win by 15 points tonight they will move up to third spot in the world.
12'The two French centre are big! We know all about that big bas....Bastareaud, but his side kick Yannick Jauzion is not small either - some 6'4 and over 100 kilos.
9'Wales are heavier in the pack but the first scrum should be interesting - and the French get a penalty for the Welsh going down.
7'0-7 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
7'0-5 Try - Alexis Palisson , France
6'TRY Winger Alexis Palisson intercepts a pass from James Hook and strides under the posts for a terrible start for the Welsh.
5'A concern for the Welsh will be the captain Ryan Jones - is he really fit and fit for the whole match?
3'It should be fascinating to see the difference in style of the full backs. Lee Byrne is all muscle while Clement Poitrenaud is all sinew.
2'The first 20 minutes will be very important - if France get in to their stride - it will be a long night for the home side.
1'The French have not really done anything magical but they have been efficient - which is not a word that is generally used for French rugby - supreme - yes, classy - yes, but efficient - mais non!
1'Wales kick off - France gather and clear to touch. France will be looking to take the sting out of the Welsh.
1'Hi, I'm Shaun Rusk and I will be with you for what promises to be a cracking match as Wales takes on the 6 Nations leader, France, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Unbeaten France will go in to the match as favourites but Wales will fancy their chances. Warren Gatland's men have played in fits and starts and were lucky to get the win against Scotland in the final, final minute, but the Welsh will be extra determined to end French hopes of a Grand Slam. France on the other hand have been all business. In both games against Scotland and then Ireland they have done the basis right without necessarily reaching the heights that all French teams are capable. Calling UK readers - Want to tell us what you think of ESPN and put yourself in with a chance to win tickets to UK sports events or a 32-inch TV? Well then click here to join the ESPN Fan Forum. Shoot from the hip Welsh coach Warren Gatland has had a dig at the big French centre, Mathieu Bastareaud. The Kiwi told BBC Sport Wales: "We've got to make the game faster and see if we can make him puff a little bit. He's a big man, I don't know if he's the fittest at international level." I agree with Gats. The 21 year-old is big but he also looks like he could shift around some of that weight to make him look fitter and play better - yes even better! Brendan Gallagher in Friday's The Daily Telegraph says Wales have to tighten up: "They appear to have gone back to their loose way, their defensive record being a far cry from their 2008 Six Nations Grand Slam campaign, when they conceded only two tries - scored by England back Toby Flood and Italy prop Martin Castrogiovanni - during the entire tournament." A nice touch from the Welsh team who will be wearing shirts with "In loving memory of Mam, Cheryl Davies 1964 - 2010" in memory of lock Bradley Davies' mother who died recently - embroidered at the waist. Get up to date comments with Scrum.com's Graham Jenkins and Huw Baines on Twitter: as they give extra detail and gentle - and sometimes not so gentle - asides! Twitter "The introduction of SA referees Kaplan and Lawrence could make things interesting in Cardiff and at Twickenham." Let us know what you think of Friday night matches. Graham and Huw are not keen: Twitter "Friday night games? No thanks. Fans can't make a day of it unless they take time off work - let's not pander to the TV dollar in future." Great atmosphere at the ground - colour, smoke, noise - fantastic!
1'0-0 Start of first half

Six Nations 2010 News