Wales will be hoping to bounce back from their defeat in Doncaster against England a fortnight ago, but face a difficult challenge against a sizeable France outfit.
“Their biggest threat is their set piece,” said Hayward. “They’ve stolen the most lineouts in the tournament, and they’ve got a strong scrum.
“They’ll look to use their size to dominate up front. They average 16 offloads a game so that would be the highest in the tournament by quite some way.
“They are a very direct team who look to win collisions. They flood the line with support players to keep their continuity in the game through their offload.
“We have to make sure we stop that on the gain line, and that’s been our focus point. We have to match them physically because once they get momentum, and one or two quick gain lines then it’s very difficult to stop.
“Our focus point is to stop them at source.” Hayward has awarded the captaincy to impressive inside centre Joe Hawkins who has arguably been Wales’ best performer during this under 20s Six Nations campaign.
And Hayward insists the Ospreys man will prove to be an inspirational choice as captain. “Joe took over the captaincy when Alex went off against England,” said Hayward. “He’s a seasoned campaigner.
“He’s got around 15 caps for us, and in terms of experience he’s a regional player. He’s also played regional level at 10 while he’s been a leader here since the day he came here.
“He’s the obvious choice for us. It was a also a case of us asking him first because not every player likes the extra responsibility but Joe was all for it.
“He really relished the opportunity so he’s good to go.” Hayward has also been impressed by full back Iestyn Hopkins who has recovered from a couple of serious injuries to make his mark during the championship.
“He’s done well to come back from a couple of injuries,” said the former Scarlets defence coach. “He forced his way into the team through his consistent performances, training, his attitude, and his performances for Swansea, and Dunvant.
“He’s a quality player, and one who all the coaches unanimously felt we couldn’t leave out of the team. He took his chance against England in a big game and he gets to keep the jersey.
“We want to get the ball into his hands more often from an attacking perspective.”
