Wales...22 France...29: Wales left the Millennium Stadium yesterday beaten by the only side still able to take the Grand Slam, but with their coach believing they were on the point of taking a "big scalp" before his two-year reign ends.
Steve Hansen has two games left before he returns to New Zealand and the only big scalp left in this year's Six Nations is England's at Twickenham in two weeks' time.
Hansen had just seen his side drag themselves back to within seven points of causing yet another surprise in a weekend of upsets. When Martyn Williams got on the end of a move set up by Ceri Sweeney and taken on by Stephen Jones, it signalled a final three minutes of frantic Wales attacks.
Gareth Thomas, Sweeney, and a blood-splattered Colin Charvis all had darts, only for huge tackles by Fabien Pelous, Imanol Harinordoquy and Serge Betsen to keep them out. Not for the first time, Welsh inventiveness was not enough against France's big men.
Compared to the tame defeat in Dublin two weeks ago, Wales were a revelation. Their lineout held its own and they matched France tackle for tackle. But as Hansen said: "Most of the problems we had two weeks ago we have solved. Only one remains."
He was talking about Wales's inability to compete in the scrum against a side that had bulked up to attack them in that area. For most of the afternoon the young Wales front five were going backwards and after 57 minutes it finally cost them the match.
Just inside their own half the ball squirted out to the replacement scrumhalf Dwayne Peel. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde got his foot there first, nudged the ball on to Betsen and then cruised alongside the flanker to take his return pass.
Wales thought the pass had gone forward and protested long and hard, but the Toulouse number nine was away and had just enough of a start to beat Gareth Thomas to the line. With Elissalde's conversion (he scored all but five of his side's points), France had the glimmer of a comfort zone.
They had gone into half-time, and a roasting from coach Bernard Laporte, leading by just a point, and that was only due to a bit of off-the-cuff thinking from Frederic Michalak. Ten metres out and faced with a line of red in the 40th minute, the Toulouse outhalf darted back around the blind side of a ruck, where he found Vincent Clerc. The wing stepped inside the only Welsh cover, scrumhalf Gareth Cooper, leaving Harinordoquy with an easy run in behind the posts.
Otherwise, Wales had matched the new championship favourites blow for blow. Four Stephen Jones penalties had them six points up after 27 minutes and with Michael Owen, chosen ahead of Robert Sidoli, having a huge game and Rhys Williams finding space on the outside, the packed stadium had the whiff of an upset.
French passes started going everywhere before that meeting with Laporte calmed their nerves. Straight after the break Christophe Dominici came close to wriggling his way over in the corner and Elissalde stroked over two penalties. Jones answered with one, but then the French weight began to take its toll.
"All rugby games are settled up front and in the end they were just too big and too strong," said Hansen. "Our scrum is very dispirited, but that is the reality of where we are at the moment.
"You can only put on the best pack you have got and they showed a hell of a lot of courage. Unfortunately we got beaten by a side that is bigger and better, but we could have pinched it."
With two games left, Hansen will not have time to find the two strapping forwards he believes Wales need. But he will probably still be in his job when the Welsh Rugby Union announce his replacement, possibly as early as this week.
WALES: G Thomas; R Williams, Taylor (Shanklin 62), Harris (Sweeney 75), S Williams; S Jones, Cooper (Peel 50); I Thomas (Evans 61), Davies (Bennett 83), G Jenkins, Cockbain, Owen; J Thomas, Charvis (capt), D Jones (M Williams 61). Try: Williams. Con: S Jones. Pens: S Jones 5.
FRANCE: Brusque; Clerc, Jauzion, Traille, Dominici; Michalak (Heymans 80), Elissalde (Yachvili 77); Marconnet (Crenca 58), Servat (Bru 69), De Villiers; Pelous (capt), Pape; Betsen, Harinordoquy, Lievremont (Magne 57). Tries: Harinordoquy, Elissalde. Cons: Elissalde 2. Pens: Elissalde 5.
Referee: S Dickinson (Australia).
