2021 Six Nations Championship – France vs Wales Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is France vs Wales taking place? Saturday 20th March, 2021 – 20:00
Where is France vs Wales taking place? Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Where can I get tickets for France vs Wales? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is France vs Wales on? BBC
Where can I stream France vs Wales? France vs Wales can be streamed via BBC iPlayer
THE TEAM NEWS
FRANCE
- France played to an incredible level at Twickenham last Saturday and yet lost to their inspired hosts in the best match of the tournament so far, leaving London the wrong end of a 23-20 result.
- Classy tries from star man Antoine Dupont and a Damian Penaud from a brilliant training-ground line-out routine were part of the majesty at Twickenham and they will be integral to this potentially title-deciding crunch match in Paris.
- Head coach Fabien Galthie has named the same starting XV that faced England as they aim to snatch the Grand Slam away from Wales this weekend, with two changes on the bench as Uini Atonio and Swan Rebbadj come in.
France: 15 Brice Dulin, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Virimi Vakatawa, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Damian Penaud, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Dylan Cretin, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Romain Taofifenua, 3 Mohamed Haouas, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Camille Chat, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Swan Rebbadj, 20 Cameron Woki, 21 Anthony Jelonch, 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Romain Ntamack
WALES
- Wales were on fire against Italy last Saturday, putting seven tries behind the Azzurri to knock England and Ireland out of the running for the title and they can lift the Grand Slam trophy here in Paris with a win.
- Head coach Wayne Pivac had entered the 2021 Six Nations Championship under severe scrutiny after winning just three of his first 10 games in charge but he and Wales are a game away from winning the title with a 100% record after finishing in fifth last season.
- Pivac makes one change for this life-changing match as rested lock Adam Beard comes back into the side having played the first three fixtures for Wales.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Jonathan Davies, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James Botham, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Uilisi Halaholo
THE PREDICTION
This promises to be an electrifying clash between France and Wales with a victory at any costs for the visitors seeing them win one of the more unlikely Grand Slams in Six Nations history. Wayne Pivac’s side are totally unrecognizable from the side who trudged through the 2020 Six Nations Championship and the Autumn Nations Cup later that year, with a 23-27 defeat in Paris to France in last season’s edition probably their best performance. Wales last won in Paris during their last title-winning campaign in 2019, with no more than five points separating the two in each of their last five competitive meetings of three Welsh wins and two for Les Bleus. With so much riding on it, the result looks too tight to call via handicap here. Three of those five competitive matches came just under 40 points and so for want of a winner that could be an interesting alternative here. Otherwise, the momentum is with Wales after France’s defeat to England last week and they look able to just edge this to Grand Slam glory.
