Tries in either half from scrum-half Ellis Bevan and No 8 Morgan Strong, both converted by Sam Costelow, were enough for Wales to edge past Les Blues in awful conditions in Colwyn Bay.
Sacha Lotrian’s try temporarily gave his team the lead, but they weren’t able to hold on and succumbed to their second defeat of the championship.
Williams praised the quality his side showed in the elements, with Ellis and Costelow – who combined for the opening try – controlling the game expertly at half back.
“The boys dug in. There were a few lessons from the Ireland and Italy games which we were looking to capitalise on and the boys were excellent,” said Williams.
‘The conditions obviously came in and that was a factor, but the boys managed them really well.”
The 41-year-old revealed his team had planned to put the French under as much pressure as possible, something which resulted in one of Wales’ two scores on the night.
“We spoke a lot, especially in the conditions, about exerting pressure on to France,” Williams said.
“It was great work from Jac Morgan to take advantage of the error that they made and the boys finished it well. That was the type of night it was and the boys took advantage of it.”
The French were camped on Wales’ try line towards the end of the first half, but committed defence meant they were unable to cross for a score which would have swung the momentum their way.
“It was a huge sign of character,” said Williams.
“I thought half time was going to be blown about six minutes before. It was a real good shift to come out of there because France were really pressurising our scrum.”
Having been guilty of making too many errors in their first two games, Williams was quick to heap praise on his team for their improvement in that area of the game.
“It’s probably something from the first two games where Italy and Ireland were much better than us,” he said.
“The style of play we used against France may not be what everybody wants to watch, but there’s that element of getting the ball into their territory and pressurising teams when we get there.
“I’m chuffed that the boys were able to deliver that.”
