Wales v France Live
Date:17.03.12
Place: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Time: 14:45 local, 14:45 GMT, 20:45 BDT
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A measly 80 minutes this Saturday is all that stands between Wales and France from being the first nation booked into the 2011 World Cup Final in Auckland.
Say what you will about them, the French are still standing despite what was looking like being an embarrassing effort for Marc Lièvremont's outfit. And what a difference a week makes as talk of them having a slim chance of taking England is replaced by many using the phrase 'coin toss'.
I'm one of those as a strong pack combined with a dash of class out wide meets a Welsh team that doesn't seem to have many weaknesses at all.
Some may wonder how have Wales got this far.
Let us go back to Poland if we can for a moment where they spent a chunk of their pre-tournament training. According to one Polish journalist, the Welsh got through approximately six training sessions per day in Spala due to using their cryotheraphy facilities in order to recover faster. And like Leicester, who also adopted this venture during their successful period of a few years back, it seems to be paying dividends for their squad. Case in point, the noticeable change in physique of Adam Jones.
There is no doubt they deserve a place in the final too and will maybe count themselves grateful not to have beaten South Africa in their opening fixture, when the statistics showed them being on top. Such a trend was reversed this past week for the Boks though, but let's not re-open that can of worms. Back to my point with Wales in peak physical condition and are ultra confident because of that fact, led by a leader who will soon need no introduction.
Whispers during this week from their camp have hinted they will be adopting a much more contained style of play due to this being a RWC semi-final. Whether they are bluffing or not remains unclear but it seems strange to change what has been a successful mindset when few teams have been able to deal with it. France, despite edging England, are not firing on all cylinders by any means as lapses by Ben Foden and then three defenders going after Alexis Palisson instead of doing the defensive math was ultimately the difference at Eden Park. And wouldn't it be so typically French for them to under-perform at this key stage?
Speaking of which, the French do seem to be enjoying their current underdog tag and will have no qualms going into this one with many backing the Welsh. History begs to differ with the bookmakers mind you as they defeated Warren Gatland's side 28-9 only a few months ago in Paris while Lièvremont's record against their rivals has a winning percentage of 75.
Coaches and players alike hate history though and one tends to side with them at such a stage as this is a different Welsh team than the one playing in March. We shall see if they can make some of their own history by making a first final. Then it really is heads or tails.
Maxime Mermoz vs Jamie Roberts
Ones to watch:
For Wales: Losing Rhys Priestland is a blow due to his calmness and seemingly endless time in possession (a hallmark of a good player) but the Welsh do not lose a lot in bringing James Hook back into the side. Their full-back or fly-half will demand of himself his best game in a Test shirt alongside Mike Phillips and if he can combine with Jamie Roberts while keeping his side in the right areas, then a World Cup final is a real possibility.
For France: He was immense last week and therefore Wales will know just how important it is to keep a lid on Imanol Harinordoquy at Eden Park. Having been left out by coach Marc Lièvremont during patches of the Pools, the Biarritz number eight has now firmly cemented his spot back in blue. I was going to mention this in the next segment but what the heck, his battle with Welsh number eight Toby Faletau should be captivating from minute one.
Head-to-head: Two hard-nosed inside centres will go toe-to-toe this weekend as Jamie Roberts meets Maxime Mermoz. Much like he has done during the tournament, Roberts will look to get at a fly-half and Morgan Parra must seem like candy in a sweet shop to the Welshman. That is why ultimate professional Mermoz needs to help out by standing closer to his ten in defence while the back-row will in turn focus on stopping Roberts after the initial contact. Flankers Thierry Dusautoir and Sam Warburton's battle will also take the breath away. Warburton runs all day while Dusautoir gets through the tackles. Keep an eye on it.
Recent results:
2011: France on 28-9 at Stade de France
2010: France won 26-20 at Millennium Stadium
2009: France won 21-16 at Stade de France
2008: Wales won 29-12 at Millennium Stadium
2007: France won 34-7 at Millennium Stadium
2007: France won 32-21 at Stade de France
2006: France won 21-16 at Millennium Stadium
2005: Wales won 24-18 at Stade de France
2004: France won 29-22 at Millennium Stadium
2003: France won 33-5 at Stade de France
2002: France won 37-33 at Millennium Stadium
2001: Wales won 35-43 at Stade de France
2000: France won 36-3 at Millennium Stadium
Prediction: Head says Wales by about 5!
The teams:
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Paul James, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.
France (revised): 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Cedric Heymans.
Date: Saturday, October 15
Kick-off: 21:00 (20:00 GMT)
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Wayne Barnes (England)
Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
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