No complacency for France against struggling Wales
SPOTLIGHT: France will not be taking Wales lightly this weekend, attack coach Patrick Arlettaz said on Tuesday, despite their wildly differing fortunes in their Six Nations openers.
France romped to a 36-14 victory over Ireland in Paris, while Wales were woeful in their 48-7 crumbling at Allianz Stadium against England.
Last year, Wales failed even to register a point in a seven-try thrashing in Paris, and few would expect Steve Tandy’s men to put up much resistance against Fabien Galthie’s star-studded outfit this weekend.
“We’ve just played a great match against Ireland, we won, we’re off to a good start,” Arlettaz told reporters.
“If we take them lightly, it would be a lack of professionalism.”
Wales have lost 12 straight matches in the Six Nations and 22 of their last 24 Tests overall.
The only team they have beaten during that run – which began with their quarterfinal exit to Argentina in the 2023 World Cup is Japan.
“We’re never safe from having a bad match,” added Arlettaz.
“We’re very wary of this Wales team, which is young, who put together long passages of play, and who could really make life difficult for us.
“They’ve had complicated results for several months now, that’s true, but it doesn’t take much to turn things around.”
