Warren Gatland’s side have worked themselves into the perfect position to avenge last year’s agonising World Cup semi-final defeat to France by winning their four RBS 6 Nations games and now have a date with destiny against Les Bleus.
To add to the emotion, the game will be played against a backdrop of grief following the death at the age of 65 this week of Wales’ Grand Slam skipper of 1976, Mervyn Davies. There will be a minute’s silence before the game to remember the iconic No 8 who won three Triple Crowns, two Grand Slams and two British & Irish Lions Test series.
No wonder, then, that Wales assistant coach Rob Howley yesterday suggested the players would like to dedicate a Grand Slam victory to the memory of one of Wales’ greatest ever players.
“It gives us even more motivation for what is hopefully going to be a great game for Welsh rugby. We speak frequently of world-class players, but the words icon and legend belong to ‘Merve the Swerve’,” said Howley.
“When I was Wales captain he gave me plenty of words of wisdom. He was a very humble man who knew the game inside-out, a rugby colossus.
“To only lose only nine games as a player for Wales and the Lions in 46 Tests makes him an icon of world rugby.”
Sam Warburton and his team will give themselves a chance of reaching such elevated status if they can continue their good form of the past year and find a way to beat the French for the first time since 2008. Gatland has called for greater accuracy in the Welsh game and Wales certainly won’t be able to afford a fifth successive yellow card in this tournament against a side as potent as the French.
It promises to be an unmissable afternoon of drama, tension, passion and pride. A win for Wales will earn them an 11th Grand Slam, while a draw will guarantee the title.
If France win, then the championship will run to the final game at Twickenham, where England meet Ireland. The English need to turn around a 38 points deficit to deny Wales the title, so the scoreline at the Millennium Stadium will be vital from start to finish.
Hooker Matthew Rees will become the 30th Welsh player to reach 50 caps for his country and Gethin Jenkins, Adam Jones and Ryan Jones are bidding to become three-time Grand Slammers.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny; 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North; 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips; 1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Matthew Rees, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Alan Wyn Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 8 Toby Faletau.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
France: 15 Clement Poitrenaud; 14 Wesley Fofana, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Florian Fritz, 11A Palisson; 10 L Beauxis, 9 D Yachvili; 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2 William Servat, 3 David Attoub, 4 Pascal Pape, 5 Yoann Maestri, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 7 Julien Bonnaire, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Morgan Parra, 21Francois Trinh-Duc, 22 Jean-Marcel Buttin.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
And if you haven’t got a ticket for the hottest gig in town, fear not. By logging onto www.wru.co.uk/live just before the match, you can follow every kick, pass, scrum and try right here.
