How France will win.

France will follow the same tactics as they did against England.

Main tactics..
1. Dominate the forwards as they did against England.
2. Create pressure and penalties.
3. Keep the scoreboard ticking over. They wont turn down kicks at goal (alá Ireland) and expect to see them attempting drop goals at every opportunity in the first 20 - 30 mins.
4. The do not give away many penalties and while there defense fell apart abit against NZ they showed last week that they have a strong defense and as noted dont give away too many penalties.

I dont think we can expect a swashbuckling performance from their backs or that they will attempt to run the ball at every opportunity. I think that they will hold onto the ball as much as possible they will (unlike Ireland) maul the ball and pick and go around the fringes keeping the defense honest, they then get one of the second rows running hard in midfield (around 10 metres from the previous ruck) and look for quick ball of that situation. It is here where they punished England in the first half.

Big test for Wales in the physicality stakes but they have handled SA and Ireland so if they can keep their shape and dont let the French forwards through the middle then it bodes well for them. We have yet another tremendous back row battle and front row battle.

The only thing that makes me think the French will win is that we still havent seen the unbelievable, startling, amazing, etc etc etc- performance from them yet. Yes they were good against england but they totally switched off at half time.

I honestly cant call this one.

I dont know Stand..I think Walsh helped England a bit in the second half, for a lot of the penalties that went against France you could see the confusion on their faces. On the other hand every time they needed to step it up they did.

One thing which will be interesting is whether ML substituted Yachvilli again. He was clearly running things and then they did seem to lose their purpose for about 15 mins when he was taken off.

I don't think France have 80min in them.

Wales will dominate in the pack and Roberts and North will have a field day running at Yachvilli.

The only two worries for Wales is that Hook tries to force the play too much and if they get pegged down in their own half and concede kickable penalties.

I just think this welsh side is too strong, physically and mentally for France.

Yeah well that was as dumb a substitution as i can remember. one thing i do agree with though is that if France spend as much time in wales 22 as Ireland did they will kick their penalties and or drop goal. France are known to have lapses though and it is how wales exploit this that will matter

I dont think the French forwards will dominate, they are on par with Ireland, South Africa and Samoa in terms of physicality.

Yachvilli went off injured

Welsh forwards will DOMINATE (hope he doesnt mind the copyright infringement!)

it depends which French team turns up. Bonnaire was like a man possessed last week. I cant recall him ever playing with that intensity. Hairy donkey can be immense or invisible.

I cant call the scrums to be honest and the Welsh lineout looks good but the french one is peerless (and called by Hairy Donkey).

There is very little to split these teams except the welsh are probably mentally better and have more momentum

I think they will play like the French teams play in the HC (especially away from home)..like you said Stand they will try to keep the scoreboard ticking - drop goals, penalties anything will be attempted. It was the one area they failed against NZ in the first 15 mins when they dominated.

Thanks Ruby...didnt realise he was injured...he does make a huge difference to them.

Not so sure the welsh will dominate in the forward exchanges.

If people generally believe that France have one "outstanding" game every world cup, then it is still to come in my opinion because they weren't outstanding in the quarters. I don't think it'll happen this year though.

Yeah the only reason I give France a chance is because they have a history of pulling fantastic performances out of nowhere.
Still I wouldn't put any money on them and will be supporting Wales all the way.

A lot of those elements aren't necessarily France's choice, again you show disregard to what this Welsh side is capable of. I seem to recall you saying that the last game was in Ireland's hands, that it was down to what they did, not what Wales did...

How can France dominate our forwards when our forwards might just be stronger for all you know? They were out in Wellington.

How can they kick penalties and not concede any in the event that we're simply able to pressurize them better on the day?

We are not England and while they were allowed very little breathing space through the forwards they still only lost by 7. I'd say our full complement of forwards far exceeds their English counterparts atm ie Jenkins, Jones, Charteris, Warburton and co.

I say if we disrupt France and prevent them from playing their preferred brand of rugby, a task which our defence and back row could contribute to, they could well lose courage and go down by a decent margin in the end.

it was down to what they did, not what Wales did.

You're right knowsit and at the end of the day to my mind Wales executed their game plan better than Ireland...we made more mistakes in effect so yes it was down to what Ireland did at the end.

I am not saying France WILL dominate but I can see from my original posting it appears that way rather this is how they will try to win. Of course Wales will be trying to implement their game plan and if they succeed in certain areas then more than likely they will win.

France making a lot of noise in the press this week some players and coaches giving praise to Wales other coaches and players saying Wales aint that good,

You just can't help but get the feeling France don't want this game.

If we put points on them early their heads will go down and they will lose interest - has always been the case when we've beaten em - same as when they played the All Blacks too.

And even if this 'magical' French team does turn up - is it certain we wont be able to handle em ?

The thing is Munkian I dont think there will be anything magical about how France play this weekend. It will be very pragmatic.

roddersm wrote:
Roberts and North will have a field day running at Yachvilli.

Really? Yachvilli & Parra aren't big, but they're pretty solid tacklers and as SHs their bread & butter is fronting up to rampaging back rowers.

Nothing like some French arrogance! Will make any kind of win on Saturday all the sweeter. Remember Elissalde's "It's only Wales" comment before the GS game in 2008?

DOD, that's not what I meant. The game was won by Wales, not simply lost by Ireland. The better side won on the day as they will this Saturday.

Whoever scores first is key. On paper if you look through the teams it looks very even, maybe even France look marginally better.

As a matchday squad of 22 though Wales are better coached, fitter, have a better team spirit and are generally speaking playing better rugby.

I really just think Wales have a steel about them and will find a way to win and if France aren't on their game Wales could give them a spanking.

France will win only if Wales lose the game. Strange quote from me , but I feel true. It's our game to win or lose, we could gift it to them by the way we will play, if it differs from our previous well organised, structured performances, and if we change tactics it will be difficult for the young guns to hold on .
lets hope every player is aware of what is expected of them, so far they have, but we now have 'the enigma' at 10.

Their English defense coach has said to the press that France are more on form as they have improved more after a spanking by NZ and being beaten by Tonga...

I'm sorry but going from soft as Poopie to beating a cack handed England team isn't a huge jump in improvement to me.

Wales have also 'copied' their tackling technique of going for the legs

First thing I was taught in school is no matter how big the opposition they can't run without legs...

I agree the better team won on the day knowsit no arguement. From my point of view we lost it. From yours you won it. If it was played again next week would I think we would win - yes of course.

It is possible that Wales will "spank" France but I think that this French team will be very practical in their approach to Wales as they were with England.

If the French performance is anything like it was against England then I think we will win and win comfortably.

Fair points DOD.

Like I said I believe this Welsh side, especially the forwards, to be stronger than England currently. Therefore logically the same approach from France might not work this time.

Take the first try which was what really set England back, it came from an awful missed tackle by Foden on Clerc.

England allowed France to run rampant, bear in mind that in the second half when the defence tightened France only managed three points. In the first half their success was made possible by a sea of England errors, they played right into French hands tbh.

If we can disrupt France and not give them enough possession or space to be dangerous, I can't see what there is to stop us winning. If France aren't allowed enough ground and luxury to run they often look feverish with nerves. They started well against NZ, yet still lost as unlike England the AB's kept their senses and wouldn't allow Les Bleus to play their preferred brand until it was too late.

If France are going to win on saturday they to do a number of things on the pitch.

They have to get around our blitz defence either with very quick hands to the wingers/OC or chip behind and try and gather. Fiji tried this and it didnt work but I think that was down to poor execution by the fijians.

Wales line speed in defence is excellent so France really run the risk of an intercept if they put it through the hands, However the French backs certainly have teh skills to do this. They are almost cetain to try cross field kcicks to pressurise shane.

They have to rely upon us not challenging their throw so that they can set drives up from lineout possession to tie in our backrow before releasing their backs.

The will hope for a dominance in teh scrum so they can attack of first phase again avoiding our backrow. At the breakdown they will flood with bodies to slow welsh ball down and pressurise Phillips so as to shut off possession to our backs.

Only the lineout defence worries me. I think Wales can cope in the scrum perhaps even get dominance.

Defensively I think our boys are clever enough to sweep up any chips behind and our wingers savvy enough not to let the blitz get too far ahead. Shane has been dealing with crossfield kicks all his career.

I think we have the edge at the breakdown but a lot depends on Rollands reffing of it.

Despite what Dave Ellis says the french defensive plan is in tatters so I expect our backs to carry on doing exactly what they have been to score tries.

Most of that is only relevant if they aim to win by scoring tries. What they need to focus on (and where Ireland failed) is making sure they pick up points from penalties and DGs every time they visit the Welsh half.

They are going to have to score tries to win the match. If they are going to rely on getting penalties from this disciplined defence they will lose.

I agree they need to be pragmatic and take points on offer, both sides need to do that, both sides will.

However to win they need to score 7 pointers, (somthing they have failed to do with any elan so far) if they want to win. Wales will score tries and with Hook at 10 Im more confident of the goalkicking and drops than I have been with Priestland.

I think if France are going to win they need to score three converted tries. I dont see this being a low scoring game despite the prize on offer.

I think Gatland will have Hook putting the ball into their territory early on. Keep them pegged back and make them play from their half. Pressure their half backs into making mistakes and take points. I can't call it because France are so potentially dangerous and Wales have been...a bit flaky in the past. I really want to believe that this is a great Wales side but I have been a Wales fan for too long to have 100% faith

DOD wrote:I agree the better team won on the day knowsit no arguement. From my point of view we lost it. From yours you won it. If it was played again next week would I think we would win - yes of course.

It is possible that Wales will "spank" France but I think that this French team will be very practical in their approach to Wales as they were with England.

DOD,you came across as a braggard before we beat you and you appear ungracious afterwards.Trust me,teams can outplay your national side.I have seen it many times.Acceptance of when you are beaten by the better side is fundamental to sport.Trust me your boys did not lose it,they were beaten by the better side.

viewtothegym wrote:France making a lot of noise in the press this week some players and coaches giving praise to Wales other coaches and players saying Wales aint that good,

You just can't help but get the feeling France don't want this game.

You feel they don't want a World Cup semi final? Even for the French it seems unlikely. Should be a close game, Wales are favourites but I just have a wild hare the French pack will step it up a gear.

People are trying to say who has the better pack, but there's very little between the Irish, Welsh, French, Aussies etc. It just depends how the players front up on the day. Wales have raised their game for several big games but I have a feeling we are going to see the biggest French display of the tournament. That may not be good enough to win it, but it'll make it a blydi brilliant game. Can't wait.

I hope the right french team turns up sat ,, so we can all see a great game of rugby ... Im sure wales are ready for them ,,...

Wales aren't England, comparisons should be ignored for what they are. You can be sure the French aren't thinking like DOD.

Notch

Not sure you can really include Australia in that list of packs

Notch wrote:

viewtothegym wrote:France making a lot of noise in the press this week some players and coaches giving praise to Wales other coaches and players saying Wales aint that good,

You just can't help but get the feeling France don't want this game.

You feel they don't want a World Cup semi final? Even for the French it seems unlikely. Should be a close game, Wales are favourites but I just have a wild hare the French pack will step it up a gear.

People are trying to say who has the better pack, but there's very little between the Irish, Welsh, French, Aussies etc. It just depends how the players front up on the day. Wales have raised their game for several big games but I have a feeling we are going to see the biggest French display of the tournament. That may not be good enough to win it, but it'll make it a blydi brilliant game. Can't wait.

Planet rugby interview with Immanol is very good...5 semi finals they have made consecutively. They have a monkey on their and you can be sue they will throw the fecker at us in the first 10!

Gatts wrote:Wales aren't England, comparisons should be ignored for what they are. You can be sure the French aren't thinking like DOD.

I hope they are

mckay1402 wrote:Notch

Not sure you can really include Australia in that list of packs

I've seen them step up and boss the Boks in South Africa. I've seen their scrum win penalties and solid ball. Their problem is they are massively inconsistent and rely on a few key players up front.

Dont be such a bore taff i said the better team won on the day, personally i think our mistakes helped. Not sure what your problem is with me thinking if the game was on again next weekend we would win.

While Wales are different than England the French will want to impose their game. I think they will try to get ahead on the scoreboard early and make Wales chase the game early on.

France number eight Imanol Harinordoquy has boldy proclaimed Wales the "All Blacks of the northern hemisphere" ahead of their World Cup semi-final at Eden Park on Saturday. Wales lost their opening match 16-17 to South Africa, but Harinordoquy said: "I haven't really seen a team in this tournament that has made them suffer, that has really been able to destabilise them."

Thats nice of him

Yes thats true Cymo. Wales have really stood out. I think Ireland took the pressure off Wales in pool play by reaping the applaud with their win over Oz when the real class act was in fact Wales with their results.

I think it will have helped in the Ireland clash with their resolve.

Difference this weekend now is Wales are for the first time the headline act and need to retain the pre Ireland preparation mentally. If they start believing the headlines they could come unstuck and for all his well meaning Harinordoquy is just as likely trying to grab the underdog status, which holds real value in the mind game stakes.

For the same reason I reckon the Ozzies get it wrong when they talk themselves up. Don't get that at all. All it does is toughen resolve of the other side

TycroesOsprey wrote:They are going to have to score tries to win the match. If they are going to rely on getting penalties from this disciplined defence they will lose.

I agree they need to be pragmatic and take points on offer, both sides need to do that, both sides will.

However to win they need to score 7 pointers, (somthing they have failed to do with any elan so far) if they want to win. Wales will score tries and with Hook at 10 Im more confident of the goalkicking and drops than I have been with Priestland.

I think if France are going to win they need to score three converted tries. I dont see this being a low scoring game despite the prize on offer.

Wales had one of the highest penalty counts of the top tier nations in the pool stages, second only to England. If France keep up the pressure and play simple rugby penalties will come.

In addition to penalties, I gave equal importance to DGs in my post, which even the best defenses can't do a whole lot about. They need to take points as soon as they get near.

Winning without scoring a try was enough in 2 of the 6 WC finals, and in recent WC SFs it gave England a 24-7 victory against France and saw Aus beat SA 27-21.


On the matter of tries though, you claim that France have failed to score with any elan, yet against their two top tier opponents they scored the same number of tries as Wales did against their's (4), and in Clerc they have the tournament's top try scorer.

Taylorman that was one of Gatlands problems he used to say things that did Wales no favours,
But during this world cup he has been a changed man he has shown respect towards the opposition but I think thats more to do with the fact he has confidence in his own side.
God luck this weekend

Wales normally beat France if they catch fire in the first half and start to score tries for fun. Amazingly the best thing that can happen is for France to go so far ahead they switch off totally before half time and burn themselves out, then Wales can fight back in the second half when France have nothing left.

Almost every great Welsh win against France has followed this pattern.

The French grandslam of 2010 France went in 20 points to Wales NIL!!

Full time score was France 23 Wales 21 and the feeble illegal drop out kick at the end summed up France,mentally fragile.

That French team was much better then and Wales were much worse.

France can't play the tight game,they are trying to do with Para at 10 but still they do leave a lot of space and allow the oppose team to play,which Wales will love.

Reading Shaun Edwards comments on how the lads are excited about defending as they are about attacking was just pure music to the ears,
He spoke about how they loved having to defend the Irish for so long in the 22 because they knew that keeping them out would hurt just as much as scoring against them,they made them desperate they give them no options.

This game is going to be a monumental statement from this Welsh team.

Indeed alyn..but there havent been many over the last 10 years or so

View I would say this French team are very structured and play a very good tight game..trys wont be there priority early on..they will be very tight and disciplined..in other words very unFrench

viewtothegym wrote:The French grandslam of 2010 France went in 20 points to Wales NIL!!

Full time score was France 23 Wales 21 and the feeble illegal drop out kick at the end summed up France,mentally fragile.

That French team was much better then and Wales were much worse.

France can't play the tight game,they are trying to do with Para at 10 but still they do leave a lot of space and allow the oppose team to play,which Wales will love.

Reading Shaun Edwards comments on how the lads are excited about defending as they are about attacking was just pure music to the ears,
He spoke about how they loved having to defend the Irish for so long in the 22 because they knew that keeping them out would hurt just as much as scoring against them,they made them desperate they give them no options.

This game is going to be a monumental statement from this Welsh team.

Yet they stuffed you 28-9 in March and you choose to ignore that game. Where you also lost.

AlynDavies wrote:Wales normally beat France if they catch fire in the first half and start to score tries for fun. Amazingly the best thing that can happen is for France to go so far ahead they switch off totally before half time and burn themselves out, then Wales can fight back in the second half when France have nothing left.

Almost every great Welsh win against France has followed this pattern.

Given that has happend once in the last 11 meetings and there have been more occasions in that time where France have caught fire early and Wales had no come back, it's a bit of a stretch to consider it an auspicious sign.

Why do people look in the past ? If this Welsh side had played like they are now in the 6N we would have had another GS.
If you are going to compare sides then it needs to be done on current form.
All we are getting at the moment is basically the same stuff we had prior to the Irish match.

In fairness Cymro, View brought up the past first.

Anyhow Wales are playing extremely good stuff at the moment but its hard to dismiss France as well given the quality of players they have

That was not directed at you DOD I'm just saying that it's the current form that matters.
Yes I'm aware that France have very good players in the squad but that does not always mean it will be a great team effort.