Thomas Ramos kicked 20 points to extend France’s Six Nations win streak over winless Wales to five with a gripping bonus-point 45-24 victory in Cardiff on Sunday.
Five tries from Gael Fickou, man-of-the-match Nolann le Garrec, George-Henri Colombe, Romain Taofifenua and Maxime Lucu ensured the French a second victory in the tournament and third place in the table.
The result consigned Wales, who scored three tries through Rio Dyer, Tomos Williams and Joe Roberts, to a 13th defeat in their past 15 Six Nations matches.
Photo: AFP
It also sets up Wales for a wooden spoon decider against Italy next week, with the Welsh staring at five defeats in the Six Nations for first time since 2003.
“It’s special in this stadium. We did not give up many easy points,” France coach Fabien Galthie said.
“We have to experience difficult and happy moments the same. We showed resilience. Today was about getting really engaged and not letting go. So I say ‘bravo’ to the players. They did the job,” Galthie said. “Now we focus on England and getting the runners-up spot hopefully.”
Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins said his team “felt like the French would fatigue later on with their big pack. It didn’t go to plan, but we’ll look at it and come back next week.”
“We were excited about the physical battle, but we definitely came off second best. Next week is massive for us because we don’t want to finish bottom,” Jenkins said. “Italy have won here before so we’re not going to take them for granted, but we’ve got to reflect on this game and see how we can be better.”
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