North try secures Paris win.

The Scarlets winger collected a superb chip through from fly half Dan Biggar and scored in the corner to end a run of eight straight defeats. 

In a tense encounter, the sides were level for most of the match, Leigh Halfpenny and Frederic Michalak exchanging two penalties apiece. 

But Biggar’s moment of magic, finished off by North, put the nail in the French coffin. Halfpenny converted North’s score and added a third penalty in the dying moments as Wales got back to winning ways.

After a slow start at home to Ireland last week, Wales’ early intent was clear as they tried to stretch the French defence. But despite their best efforts, it was a scrappy opening 10 minutes dominated mainly by the two sets of forwards.  

The Stade de France pitch cut up noticeably from the first scrum as Wales saw the better of the early territory with Mike Phillips at his spiky best. The Wales scrum half made one clean break to give his side hope but saw his forwards knock on a couple of phases later.

Biggar saw a drop goal effort fall short and although his side were dominating both possession and territory, Wales failed to turn their early pressure into points. Jamie Roberts, on his 50th cap, knocked on a pass from Biggar to sum up a disjointed first few minutes.

And Wales were made to pay for not taking their chances as France took a 3-0 lead. Referee George Clancy penalised Adam Jones at a scrum and Michalak did the rest to get the first points on the board.

An early deficit was undeserved for a Welsh side who were competing manfully upfront and they soon got their reward when Halfpenny levelled things up. It was Biggar’s huge clearance kick that set up field position and after winning a penalty in front of the posts, Halfpenny had a simple kick to get Wales back into it.

The visitors were well in the game but were wary of the French danger, especially when the likes of Yoann Huget and Wesley Fofana were given space. One Huget break should have seen France retake the lead but they failed to make the most of a two-on-one advantage and a superb clearance kick from Halfpenny saw the danger averted.

There was very little between the teams as Wales, with the impressive Gethin Jenkins to the fore, went toe-to-toe with the French up front. And although the scores stayed level, there was a sense that France were there for the taking if Wales’ attacking game could fire.

Sadly though, Rob Howley’s side failed to create any clear cut chances as the teams went in level at the break.

Phillips had enjoyed a feisty first half and the Bayonne man seemed determined to impress on his return to France. 

Another clean break seconds after the restart gave Wales field position from which Halfpenny’s second penalty saw Wales retake the lead.

The home side had been forced into a change at the break, Francois Trinh-Duc coming on for the injured Benjamin Fall.

With Huget moving to the wing and Trinh-Duc slotting in at full back, France did lose some of their penetration out wide though they again wasted a golden opportunity to score the first try of the game.

With numbers inside the Welsh 22, Trinh-Duc surprisingly opted for a drop goal attempt but saw his kick drift wide as Wales escaped. Michalak soon made it 6-6 though as Clancy again penalised the Welsh scrum.

After losses on the opening weekend, both teams’ desperation for the win was evident in a scrappy second half. And with the game dominated by the scrum on a substandard surface, there was little running rugby to be seen.

Clancy’s interpretation of the scrum would have worried fans across Wales but Jones and co held their own as the game remained level.

And with just minutes remaining, North’s try won it for Wales. Biggar’s chip through found the Scarlets wing and he finished superbly to score his 12th try for his country.

Halfpenny converted and added a third long range penalty as Wales got their Six Nations defence back on track.