France v Wales: Red card and the red tide
WORLD CUP SPOTLIGHT: Quarter-final opponents France and Wales are no strangers, owing to their annual clashes in the Six Nations, but their World Cup history is so far limited to one game: a tempestuous semi-final in 2011.
Their latest meeting in the Six Nations is also instructive, after Wales came from behind to win in Paris en route to a Grand Slam and their first title in six years.
2011: the Warburton red card
Memories of France’s victory in the 2011 World Cup semi-finals are still raw for Welsh fans, who watched their chances slip away when captain Sam Warburton was sent off after 19 minutes in Auckland.
Wales hadn’t reached the last four since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, while up-and-down France had lost to Tonga in the pool stages before beating a misfiring England 19-12 in the quarter-finals.
The early signs were good for Wales, who led 3-0 through a James Hook penalty. But disaster struck when talismanic skipper Warburton lifted Vincent Clerc and crashed him onto his back, earning a red card from Irish referee Alain Rolland.
Three Morgan Parra penalties put France 9-3 up but 14-man Wales were far from out of it as they threw themselves at the French defence
They finally got their breakthrough in the 58th minute when scrumhalf Mike Phillips burst through a gap for a try – before Stephen Jones agonisingly missed the conversion that would have given Wales the lead.
With six minutes remaining, Leigh Halfpenny’s penalty from the halfway line fell just short and France repulsed a furious late charge to survive for a 9-8 win.
They were to lose the final by the same margin, however, when New Zealand won a tense match at Eden Park 8-7 to lift the trophy for the first time in 24 years.
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2019: Wales rally in Paris
Flyhalf Romain Ntamack made his debut in this year’s Six Nations opener which started well for the hosts in Paris, as number eight Louis Picamoles swerved through the Welsh defence to put them 5-0 up.
Yoann Huget doubled their advantage with a withering burst of pace as he completed a backline move aided by Arthur Iturria’s back-of-the-hand offload.
Camille Lopez kicked a penalty and a drop goal to put France 16-0 ahead at the break. But the tide turned in the second half as Josh Adams put Tomos Williams through for Wales’ first score.
George North capitalised on a big Huget mistake, when the wing fumbled the ball over his own try-line, to score Wales’ second before substitute Dan Biggar’s penalty made it 16-17 to the visitors.
Lopez kicked a penalty to put France back in front, but North pounced on another French error for the decisive try when he intercepted a pass and ran more than half the length of the field.
The 24-19 win demonstrated what has become known as trademark Welsh resilience, and will be at the back of French minds heading into Sunday’s game in Oita.
