PARIS — France soared to an Antoine Dupont-inspired 43-0 victory over Wales in Paris on Friday that proved they mean business in this year’s Six Nations.
While they were always going to be up against it, Wales looked calm under pressure in the opening exchanges and defended bravely against world class opposition.
However, France soon took control, and it was 20-year-old winger Theo Attissogbe who scored the first points of the Championship, thanks to a moment of brilliance from Dupont. The France skipper nailed a pinpoint cross-field kick that found the young winger in space on the right hand side.
With the early nerves subsided, France soon scored a second. This time they played the ball through quick hands to the right, where left winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey had swooped around the back to pick up the last pass and get a try of his own.
To compound Wales’ woes, centre Owen Watkin was forced off after sustaining a knee injury. His absence forced a reshuffle in the backline with Ben Thomas moving to the midfield and Dan Edwards coming on for his debut to take over at No. 10.
Wales hooker Evan Lloyd survived a red card scare after a shoulder to the head of Bielle-Biarrey. He was sent to the sin bin but the offence wasn’t deemed worthy of an upgrade.
While the visitors were suddenly treading water, France were eager for more and their scintillating young wingers provided.
Dupont showed why he is the player everyone is talking about by splitting the Welsh defence down the middle, finding space on his own before handing off once more to Attissogbe.
Not to be outdone, Bielle-Biarrey got his second on the stroke of half-time as well, thanks again to a wonderful wide pass, this time to the left, from Dupont.
Fullback Thomas Ramos was perfect with the boot, giving the hosts a 28-0 lead at the break.
While it was France’s silky skills that helped them reap rewards in the first-half, their opening try of the second came via pure strength, producing a textbook maul from a lineout which Julien Marchand finished off.
In a near mirror of their opening try, Émilien Gailleton received a cross field kick from returning fly-half Romain Ntamack as Wales, albeit not for want of trying, crumbled.
However, the mood quickly changed for Ntamack.
In his first test since before the 2023 World Cup, the No. 10 was shown a yellow for a shoulder to the head of Ben Thomas. Unlike Lloyd’s in the first-half, Ntamack’s was upgraded to a red card in what was one of the few black marks for a largely impressive France outfit.
After a brief scuffle when tensions boiled over, the match simmered towards the end as France picked up a bonus point, while Wales were left licking their wounds once more as they registered a 13th straight loss.
The performance will have been eagerly watched by England, who host Les Bleus at Twickenham next week, while Wales travel to Italy.
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