That would be a big turn-around from the bitter disappointment of ending up one off the bottom a year ago and would provide further evidence to Gatland and his coaching team that they are building nicely towards next year’s World Cup in Japan.
“We are getting some nice depth in the squad and we feel we are going to continue to improve as a team,” said Gatland, who has seen 18 players capped by his Welsh set-up since last June.
“We have made seven changes and we had a number of debates over who should play in different positions. In the end we went for Dan Biggar at outside half because of his experience.
“Defensively he is very good, strong and he’s good in the air. There was some very lively debate about the No 10 position, so it is a nice place for us to be in.
“It is the same situation in the back three and the back row. We are in a much stronger position than we were two or three years ago in terms of depth in the squad and it is nice to have those selection dilemmas.”
One of biggest selection headaches came in the back row, where Justin Tipuric and Taulupe Faletau remain from last weekend’s win over Italy and Josh Navidi returns. It means Aaron Shingler has to be content with a seat on the bench, while Ross Moriarty hasn’t made the squad.
“In the last two years of the championship there have been two significant away wins. One was by England here in Wales last year and the other was Ireland in France this season,” said Gatland.
“That’s the difference between winning the championship and finishing third or fourth. It is important for us to play well at home, get a win and finish second.
“France have played well all competition. They played well against Ireland, in the first 40-50 minutes against Scotland and they were outstanding against England.
“They are direct, a good defensive team and are going to be hard for us to break down. It is going to be a really close encounter and a very physical game.
“Our record over the past 10 years has been pretty good against France. We’ve won seven of the last 10 and last year was the first we’d lost in six seasons.
“It is about working their pack, keeping the ball on the park and working through lots of phases. It is all about trying to take the legs from them.
“It is the model that Scotland used. The Scots were under a lot of pressure in the first 40-50 minutes and then kept playing. The French team ran out of a bit of steam, although they have improved and certainly played for the full 80 minutes against England.
“We have got to be prepared to go through a little bit of pain in terms of keeping the pressure on them and wearing down their forwards.”
