PARIS — Was anyone else ever really going to steal the show in the Six Nations’ curtain-raiser?
Antoine Dupont took centre stage with ease on Friday night in Paris as France cruised to a 43-0 victory over Wales, reaffirming their title credentials. For his part, Dupont also confirmed what everyone already knew: he is the man of the moment and doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.
The electric scrum-half looked to have nabbed the first points of the championship himself, taking a quick tap penalty before darting under the posts after just three minutes to bring the Stade de France faithful to their feet, before he was shown to be held up. Either way, it was a warning to Wales and the rest of the competition.
If his masterful cross-field kick to set up Théo Attissogbé for their opening try doesn’t give opposition coaches and players nightmares, the ease with which he carved open the Wales defence on his way to setting up his side’s third try surely will. His three try assists on Friday took him to 20 overall in the Six Nations, moving him clear of former Wales fly-half Dan Biggar and equal second with Scotland‘s Finn Russell on the all-time list.
The ominous thing is, it wasn’t just Dupont who stuck fear into the opposition. The bundle of energy that is winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey was as lively as ever and nipped over for two tries. Attissogbé, who had big shoes to fill replacing the injured Damien Penaud, more than rose to the occasion with two of his own. The depth of this French side is growing and they go into games knowing they have payers scattered across the field who can produce individual flashes of brilliance at the drop of a hat.
While they weren’t perfect — with 16 handling errors and 15 turnovers conceded — that could be put down to the rust that often comes in the opening match of a Six Nations campaign. The fact is, France are the real deal.
For Wales, it’s the same old script and the numbers aren’t pretty — seven tries against, zero scored. 12 penalties conceded. The defeat was their 13th in a row and marked the first time since 2002-03 they’ve lost seven straight Six Nations matches. It is also the first time Wales have failed to score in the championship since 1998.
The lack of experience was clear again for Warren Gatland’s side, but he remained upbeat about their efforts and intent. “Probably when they look back, there were times where we’ve gone three or four phases and haven’t got anything out of it and maybe we’ve carried on trying to play and ended up going nowhere,” Gatland told a post match news conference. “I don’t think it’s a completely bad night of the office because there were parts of that game where we were good.”
As for the positives, Gatland’s side defended bravely and did look to run the ball when they could, but they didn’t come close to penetrating the French defence. However, they showed all the grit and heart that Welsh fans would have wanted to see from their side.
“We need to get that monkey off our back at the moment, but I want to look at those forwards and look at the way they kept carrying and the way they kept defending,” Gatland said. “They gave it everything but we need to make sure we’re smart in terms of the way that we play to hopefully get that win next week in Rome.”
Centre Owen Watkin will almost certainly miss the crucial trip to Italy next week, as will Aaron Wainwright who suffered a head injury. Regardless, Wales are in desperate need of a win before any more damage is done. France will take to Twickenham, where they ran out 53-10 winners against England in their last Six Nations clash.
Not to worry England fans, but Dupont wasn’t bad in that game, either.
Further reading:
– Why each team will find Six Nations success, and why they won’t
– WATCH: Can Scotland win their first title since 1999? ESPN writers debate
– Six Nations and Women’s Six Nations: Full fixture list
– Six Nations history, past winners, more