venue: Principality Stadium, Cardiff date: Sunday March 10th kick off: 15:00 GMT |
coverage: You can watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online from 14:20 GMT. You can listen on the BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra (second half), BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru. Text commentary and highlights are available on the BBC Sport website and app. |
It would be safe to say that the Welsh rugby team could win. Victories of all kinds.
In fact, it's not just Warren Gatland's team. Welsh rugby generally needs wins to energize the country.
Losing has become an unwelcome habit throughout the Welsh professional game, with three defeats so far this season in the Six Nations.
Italy's victory over Scotland means Gatland's side face the prospect of winning their first wooden spoon in 21 years.
Wales are the only team without a win in this competition and are languishing at the bottom of the table.
After Saturday's two epic Six Nations clashes, we can now see how Wales and France will fare in Cardiff on Sunday afternoon.
cover the crack with paper
Wales have struggled in the Six Nations recently, finishing fifth three times in the past four years.
The exception was when Wales won the title in 2021, which symbolized the ups and downs of Welsh rugby.
The Gatland team's four consecutive wins at last year's World Cup are now becoming a distant memory.
In recent weeks, the Under-20s have been defeated by England, Ireland and France. Wales' four professional teams are languishing at the bottom of the United Rugby Championship, with only the Ospreys having a chance of making the play-offs or of succeeding in Europe's second tier.
Each region will have to deal with a reduction in funding provided by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
The narrative has been that Wales will reap the benefits within a few years of exposing young players to first-class rugby early in their careers. Short-term pain creates long-term gain.
Gatland said Wales would be a good team in the future and had talents like Cardiff full-back Cameron Wynnett emerging.
In the past, Gatland has produced good teams that have won Grand Slam titles and reached the World Cup semi-finals.
This success has overturned the problems in Welsh rugby. “They should have fixed the roof when the sun was shining,” says former Wales prop Chris Horsman. Welsh rugby managers could not do that.
At the moment Wales need to celebrate success again, however small. Either against France this weekend or against Italy six days later.
center of attention
Gatland's decision to switch captain Dafydd Jenkins from lock to flanker and ask him to make his first professional start in the No. 6 shirt may have been Gatland's most controversial choice of the game.
But that wasn't the case this week, and his center pairing proved to be key.
It ended happily last time, when Gatland dropped his iconic number 13 and brought on J. Roberts. It happened in 2013 when Brian O'Driscoll was left out for the third Test between the British Irish Lions and Australia in Sydney and Jamie Roberts replaced his partner Jonathan Davies. Ta.
This time, Gatland replaced George North in favor of Scarlets center Joe Roberts, and completed the midfield change with Owen Watkin in place of Nick Tompkins.
Dropping a pair who had brought some stability to a team that had changed so much after the World Cup raised some eyebrows.
There are those who understand the rationale for trying an alternative midfield partnership at this early stage in the World Cup cycle.
Others are baffled that Wales' two most consistent players – with 155 caps between them – are not needed this time around. Masterstroke or misjudgment? Time will tell.
france world cup hangover
Is France in crisis? That's the question posed this week. Les Bleus will have to deteriorate even more dramatically before beleaguered Welsh supporters understand what is at stake for the rugby nation.
However, there are problems under Fabien Galthie. France, led by former Wales national team defense coach Shaun Edwards, had to withstand high expectations and pressure to win last year's World Cup on home soil, but suffered a crushing 29-28 loss to South Africa in the quarter-finals. It ended in a disastrous defeat.
Since then, mercurial captain Antoine Dupont has switched to sevens for the Paris Olympics, but Les Bleus have never recovered. They lost to Ireland, were pushed to the limit by Scotland and drew at home with Italy.
Will Cardiff be Wales' first defeat since 2018? Recent history has not been in Wales' favor, having lost their last four Six Nations games against France, two of which were by just four points.
The home side have a chance to end this run and a win against France would be great for the Wales international. While still a tall order, the odds are lower than they were a month ago.
boring statistics
Wales' recent Six Nations record reflects the good old days of the late 1980s, early 1990s and early 2000s.
Wales have not been bottom of the table for 21 years, having lost all five games in the 2003 tournament under Gatland's fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen. Two years later, Wales won a Grand Slam under coach Mike Ruddock. At this point, it seems unlikely that there will be a repeat.
Worryingly for Wales, they have lost 11 of their 13 Six Nations appearances since winning the title in 2021, with their only wins coming against Scotland two years ago and Italy last season. Ten of those losses have come in the last 11 games.
Wales have lost their last five home games in this competition, their worst record in Cardiff since the competition was expanded in 2000.
With two home games in a week's time, Wales are in control of their own destiny, but the margins are fine and Gatland knows what's at stake.
“I feel like I'm progressing well, but I'm hoping to put together a perfect performance,” Gatland said.
“There are parts of our game that we are happy with, and there are parts that we need to fix.
“It's not that we lack motivation. You can't question the effort of the players. People say it might be difficult to motivate them for the next game, but that's not the case.
“They understand the responsibility of putting on that jersey. We know we're not there and we know we have a lot of work to do, but they put pressure on the game and the team. Ta.
“We know we're on a journey, but we're trying to get things going as quickly as possible. A win on Sunday would be a good stepping stone. We're desperate to get that win.”
With that final sentiment, Gatland conveys the hope of a rugby nation.