France v Wales: Six Nations 2025 opener – reside | Six Nations 2025

Crimson card! France (Ntamack, 72)

72 min: Wales get the maul on from the line-out within the nook however France maintain them up in need of the road. Each groups ship in help gamers to the standing maul because it drifts over the French try-line. it stays lifted and France win the ball. There’s a little bit of afters with some pushing and shoving, but it surely’s all settled rapidly. France clear to round midway with a drop-out and Wales come once more. Can they register a minimum of one rating?

Yellow card! France (Ntamack, 70)

70 min: Oh, pretty from Tomos Williams who chips over the road for Thomas who gathers as he runs via. The ten tries his personal kick, a diagonal grubber, however he can’t discover the help runner. We’re coming again for a Welsh penalty although and it is likely to be extra as Ntamack’s shoulder smacked Thomas’ head.

TRY! France 38-0 Wales (Gaileton, 68)

66 min: Higher from Wales off a scrum inside French territory. Morgan picks up off the again and provides it to Tomos Williams on a wraparound. he injects some tempo within the transfer and straightens. He searches for Liam Williams who feeds Adams on the wing. However Bielle-Biarrey wraps him up and shortly Wales cough up the ball.

64 min: France try a set strike play from a line-out on the left. Nothing particular. It ends with a kick that dribbles past a chasing Attissogbe. A reminder than each French wings are on a hat-trick. They’ve seen just about not one of the ball since Dupont went off.

62 min: Let off for Wales as Le Garrec knocks on on the base of a ruck after Marchand after which Baille carry with immense energy. Baille appeared to carry up your entire Welsh pack on his personal as he acquired a second shove on and stormed in the direction of the Welsh line. France’s huge boys proving the distinction within the closing levels. However Wales have which they win. A monstrous clearing kick from Edwards finds contact over midway. Antoher Thomas (first title Freddie) comes on to win his second cap within the second row.

61 min: A croc-roll in opposition to Wales arms France a penalty simply to the left of the poles between the midway and Welsh 22. Dee was the responsible man there. Not intentional, he simply spiralled his torso as he cleaned out. Ntamack kicks to the touch. They’re on the hunt for a sixth strive.

60 min: Extra of the identical from Wales. Thomas finds Adams with a brief move. Rowlands carries but it surely’s all fairly innocuous. Ultimately Thomas kicks possession away. Ramos gathers and hoofs down area. Too straightforward for the French defenders. Wales simply don’t have the heft to run over tacklers. They usually don’t have sufficient ability to work the area. A reasonably meh show this half.

57 min: What can Wales do from right here? Ten phases they usually’re constructing one thing between midway and France’s 22. However they’re making no progress. Simply no creativeness or punch. France can swarm over ball carriers and power the spill after Smith fees with intent. However there’s a French knock-on so Wales will get one other really feel of the ball from a scrum about 35 metres away from the place they must be

TRY! France 33-0 Wales (Marchand, 55)

54 min: Ntamack, who can now shine with Dupont off the pitch, sparked that transfer. He kicks into contact and asks his huge mates to maul over the road.

53 min: Ntamack canters via a gap within the midfield off barely damaged play. He’s away down the centre of the pitch, finds Le Garrec on his inside, Guillard retains it alive. Aldritt then picks up off the deck they usually’re into the 22. A Welsh hand will get caught in and that’s a penalty on the bottom proper in entrance of the poles on their very own 22. Illegally killing the ball proper after a person strayed off facet. They’re on a collective warning once more.

51 min: Ramos virtually finds Bielle-Biarrey flying down the left after some scrappy play. As David Flatman on comms says, the French assault has truly been fairly odd. Nothing actually set, all simply vibes and particular person dazzles. Welsh scrum on midway to the best.

49 min: Salt within the wounds. France win the scrum penalty in opposition to the recent entrance row of Wales. Smith appeared to have the higher hand, however that’s not how the refs noticed it.

What’s Bom Squad in French as a result of right here come six replacements . Dupont is off for Le Garrec. Guillard, Auradou, Marchand, Baille and Colombe on as effectively.

47 min: Wales win the line-out, set the maul however then go down the road. All the way in which from the best wing to the left. Then all the way in which again. They’re making no yards ahead. Robust defence. No cracks right here. Ultimately Wales drop the ball in touch after one other quick carry is repelled. Abnormal from the Welsh. No Plan B on assault.

46 min: Entrance row modifications for Wales as they decide to go for the line-out in the best nook. Smith, Dee and Assiratti all on in time for the maul.

45 min: Good interaction from Wales. Adams with the preliminary cost down the left wing who then discovered Morgan inside him who then discovered Tomos Williams who then stored it alive after that. They recycle and Reffell carries arduous. Within the 22. Edwards with a carry. Penalty benefit to allow them to probability their arm. They rush the move and Bielle-Biarrey pounces on a unfastened ball and he’s away till the whistle sounds. Prime quality from Wales they usually have the penalty inside France’s 22.

42 min: The second half has began with a little bit of kick tennis. It ends with Meafou carrying into heavy site visitors on midway. Six phases kayer Dupont snipes. Cros picks up and stitches an off-load. Dupont spills it however backwards so Ntamack has to mop up. Then Ramos’ tip-on move goes ahead and that’s referred to as. Beautiful construct up play however Wales will likely be happy with their defensive units. It’s from damaged play or from kicks that the French are inflicting issues. Once they’re operating at a set defence they’re not discovering a means via.

Dean Kinsella agrees that Wales haven’t been terrible, however there’s a catch:

Hello Dan, its honest to say Wales haven’t been that dangerous however its unlucky that is their opening recreation. An absolute pasting could crush any optimism they might have had. They want a powerful exhibiting within the 2nd half, regardless that this recreation is clearly gone, to arrange themselves for the challenges to return.

Geoff Wignall has given me homework:

Good day Daniel, Please may you present your working for figuring that the third strive move was authorized? Dupont made it from behind the 5 metre line and it was caught a couple of metre out. No query about who’s the much better crew, however that was ridiculous. (I’m not Welsh.)

Can’t now, they gamers are out and it’s time for the second half.

Stat from Russ Petty:

Wales down by 24, 20 & 28 factors at HT in spherical 1 in final 3 Six Nations.

Simon Fuller thinks a minimum of a few these last passes drifted ahead:

“Has the ahead move rule modified? Three of these tries regarded very doubtful. And sure, I’m Welsh.”

I can see why you’re asking, particularly for the second and third tries. However I believe they had been each authorized.

Andy Flintoff (no that one, or so he says) has written in:

“So the IRB determined to punish harmful play (head-on-head contact) by a purple card, however the prime groups didn’t like that as gamers had been being despatched off, so as an alternative of coaching to enhance deal with method and deal with decrease (and cut back danger), they pressured the IRB to scale back the punishment to at most a 20-minute discount in participant numbers? Have I acquired that proper?”

You already know Andy, I’m glad you pointed this out. I by no means had an issue with groups being rightly punished if a participant put in a harmful deal with. However I additionally didn’t like video games turning into one thing I didn’t take pleasure in due to a purple card. I assume that is the closest we are able to get to having our cake and consuming it.

I agree although. It’s not an ideal compromise.

Half-time: France 28-0 Wales

TRY! France 28-0 Wales (Bielle-Biarrey, 40)

40 min: France win the line-out however a powerful counter shove from Wales retains the maul at bay. Dupont has a dart himself and reveals nice energy. Wales give away a penalty 5 from their very own line after a defender loses his ft. Then one other strays offside. So though they forestall the strive, they’ve now acquired a collective warning. Yet another penalty within the purple zone and one other man in purple will get sin-binned. Ntamack once more kicks it out on the best. They need one other crack at a rolling maul strive.

39 min: Oh… virtually one other cross-field kick try-assist for Attissogbe, this time from Ntamack off the scrum. The winger was hugging the touchline however the kick was just a bit too lengthy and too far in entrance. However they’d the penalty benefit from the scrum so Ntamack kicks to the touch for a line-out on the left. Can’t see them messing this up once more.

37 min: Wales have regarded alright once they’ve stored the ball, however but once more a poor kick arms possession again. It’s not that kicking from deep on that event was a nasty name, it’s simply that it was too removed from the supporting chasers. France come away with it and a cheeky grubber from Dupont on midway causes issues within the deep. After a bobble and few our bodies chasing after it within the nook, Rogers dots the ball down. However it was carried again! France have a scrum 5 out. but once more Dupont with the ball on a string. Made life a nightmare for younger Edwards who made a meal of that cleanup job.

Lloyd’s yellow stays a yellow. A silver lining. That he was the second tackler he most likely will get away with it.

TRY! France 21-0 Wales (Attissogbe, 34)

33 min: France cough up the line-out. It’s spilled within the air and Reffell collects, a lot to the reduction of the Welsh defenders. Williams hoofs it lengthy off the field kick and Bielle-Biarrey carries again.

32 min: France win the line-out and go down the best as fast as they’ll. However there’s a penalty within the line-out for intruding on the French set-piece (collapsing the maul that didn’t fairly set?). Both means, Ntamack nudges it out once more for one more line-out.

31 min: The Welsh scrum turns into a French penalty and Ntamack nudges it to the nook. France may have the line-out on the left.

Yellow card! Wales (Lloyd, 31)

30 min: Dupont once more takes management off the again of the scrum however this time his kick doesn’t come off as they transfer down the left from the centre of the Welsh 22. That took a knock off a Welsh thigh so France construct once more. Bielle-Biarrey steps off his wing. Nice defence from Wales forces a knock-on. Gareth Thomas and others immense. They’ve been actually stable when given the possibility to type a defensive set. Morgan and Reffell have additionally induced issues on the breakdown. Regardless of the rating, and some poor kicks, they’ve been useful.

28 min: Edwards has moved to fly-half with Thomas slotting within the midfield. They’re preserving the ball however then one other aimless kick items possession away. Attissogbe, from his personal 22, launches a bomb off his proper boot and it appears prefer it’s bobbled out for a 50-22. No, not fairly, simply exterior the Welsh 22. Nonetheless, a mighty hoof! And the Welsh line-out is sloppy and there’s a knock-on excessive. France have the scrum feed in centre area on the Welsh 22. France are dominating now.

They’re not exhibiting the Watkin damage replay. Might be critical. Knee? Some kind of ligament. Didn’t look good.

We come again for a Welsh scrum simply inside their very own territory to the left.

There’s a delay as Watkin receives remedy. I’m unsure what’s occurred however he appears in real ache. he was carrying into contact however went down earlier than the deal with was made and was already crying out in agony. The stretcher is out. Hope it’s not too critical. Watkin is ready to hobble off and is changed by Dan Edwards, who makes his Take a look at debut.