France vs Wales as it happened: Les Bleus send Six Nations statement with opening night win

France vs Wales LIVE

Antoine Dupont lived up to expectations as the mercurial scrum-half made his Six Nations comeback in style to lead France to a 43-0 crushing of Wales in this year's curtain riser on Friday at the Stade de France in Paris.

Dupont, who skipped last year's tournament to prepare for the Rugby Sevens tournament at the Paris Olympics, which France won, delivered a hat-trick of assists as Les Bleus handed their opponents their 13th consecutive Test defeat on a bruising opening night.

France, who have only won the Six Nations once since Fabien Galthie took over five years ago, prevailed with doubles by wingers Theo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey and other tries by Julien Marchand, Emilien Gailleton and Gregory Alldritt with Thomas Ramos scoring the rest of the points from the tee. Next weekend will be another affair, however, with a trip to England while Wales will travel to Italy.

France vs Wales latest updates

• Kick-off: 8.15pm, Stade de France

• How to watch for free in UK

• France team news and XV

• Wales team news and XV

• Prediction: Easy start for favourites

Gregory Alldritt to ITV Sport

22:20 , Alex Young

“The key was to play as a team. We have amazing individuals but we play as a team ... we get back to work on Monday.

“We know this team is different with Antoine [Dupont] as he is the best player in the world. We have a massive pack so defences are narrow so that brings space out wide.

“We want to win the tournament but we have to stay humble. Ireland are good, England are coming back this year.”

Full-time!

22:11 , Alex Young

81min: There it is! The favourites with a statement performance.

22:11 , Alex Young

80min: Into added time and France deserve their comfortable win.

TRY FRANCE!

22:08 , Alex Young

78min: That should do it! Alldritt pushes over after France got closer and closer.

Yellow card

22:06 , Alex Young

76min: Early bath for Thomas as he’s shown a yellow card for repeated offences.

22:05 , Alex Young

75min: The score is clearly not a good look, but Wales have not disgraced themselves tonight.

A few silly mistakes by individuals, but this France performance would have beaten most.

22:01 , Alex Young

73min: Ntamack’s yellow is upgraded to a red for his high tackle.

22:00 , Alex Young

72min: Oh, it’s all kicking off now as Wales push for the line. Arms and bodies everywhere as a wrestling match forms - is this a reaction to that yellow card?

It’s quickly sorted but that looked nasty for a short while.

21:58 , Alex Young

71min: A yellow card for Ntamack, who goes in shoulder-high on a Wales man. It will be reviewed in the bunker.

So unnecessary, that.

TRY FRANCE!

21:54 , Alex Young

68min: He’s only been on the field for a minute! Gailleton gets try no6, finishing off a sweeping move after a Ntamack kick out wide.

Conversion missed.

21:53 , Alex Young

67min: Adams shouts in the referee’s face claiming a high tackle, but that’s not how you do things in this game. He’s got a cut nose, to be fair, but the ref’s decision is final.

21:51 , Alex Young

64min: A corker of a clearance from Edwards sees Wales clear their line. You start to feel Wales could get on the board in the closing stages.

21:48 , Alex Young

62min: France move to within five of the Wales line before Le Garrec knocks on at the breakdown.

21:46 , Alex Young

60min: Not for the first time Thomas goes for a ballsy boot of the ball and none of his team-mates are on the same wavelength.

21:42 , Alex Young

57min: Wales are seeing plenty of the ball but just cannot get out. Phase after phase and then another knock on.

Has been the story of their possession.

TRY FRANCE!

21:40 , Alex Young

55min: Wales have no answer to the France rolling maul after an uncontested line-out and Marchand dots down.

Ramos misses the conversion.

21:38 , Alex Young

53min: The referee gives another warning to Wales captain Morgan.

21:35 , Alex Young

49min: Just the six changes for France, including Dupont going off.

Marchand, Baille, Colombe, Auradou, Guillard and Le Garrec are all on.

21:31 , Alex Young

48min: It’s phase after phase for Wales as they probe the French until Jenkins knocks on the chance is gone.

21:28 , Alex Young

46min: Bielle-Biarrey thinks he has the length of the pitch opening up to him after Wales fumble inside the France 22, but the referee calls it back for an offside.

21:27 , Alex Young

45min: Much like the first half, Wales start the second half strongly as their defence stands firm to force a Ramos knock on.

21:26 , Alex Young

42min: Lloyd is back on after his sin bin.

Second half

21:25 , Alex Young

41min: Back underway.

21:21 , Alex Young

Just the three assists for Dupont in that first half.

21:14 , Alex Young

After a decent start from Wales, the floodgates opened. Bonus point is in the bag for France, and it’s a matter of how many of them now.

Wales cannot let this get really messy.

21:11 , Alex Young

Dupont is loving life back at the Six Nations.

Half-time!

21:08 , Alex Young

42min: Ramos converts, and there’s the break.

TRY FRANCE!

21:06 , Alex Young

41min: France drive and drive before Bielle-Biarrey is spotted free on the left, takes one step inside and then drops on the line.

Bonus point on the stroke of half-time.

21:05 , Alex Young

40min: Relief for Wales as Gros drops the ball just yards from the line so we go back to the penalty.

Last chance before the break.

21:03 , Alex Young

39min: France get the scrum and there’s Dupont again looking for the run of Attissogbe, but this time the bounce isn’t kind and the ball spins out of play.

21:02 , Alex Young

37min: Dupont pings another beauty for Bielle-Biarrey to chase but Rogers gets back and gets hand on the ball to prevent a fourth try.

20:58 , Alex Young

35min: Little bit of good news for Wales as Lloyd’s yellow will not be upgraded to a red.

TRY FRANCE!

20:57 , Alex Young

34min: It’s starting to get messy as more magic from Dupont sees him dance through the Welsh defence before unselfishly pops it wide for Attissogbe to run over.

20:56 , Alex Young

32min: France can’t get any advantage from the penalty, which is wasted so the original pen is sent into touch. We’ll have a five-metre line-out.

Yellow card

20:54 , Alex Young

31min: Lloyd is shown a yellow for a high tackle after a TMO review, so he gets an eight-minute timeout and France get a penalty.

20:53 , Alex Young

31min: Better from Wales as Dupont’s kick is blocked and then the visitors are able to clear their lines.

20:52 , Alex Young

30min: Wales have twice now gifted France possession with silly individual mistakes.

20:51 , Alex Young

29min: Wales knock on inside their own 22, so that’s a France scrum.

20:48 , Alex Young

27min: Oh dear, it’s game over his Watkin as he is forced off with a possible knee injury. That looks nasty.

Edwards is on for his debut.

20:46 , Alex Young

26min: Wales start to build something, until Thomas decides to do an up-and-under which none of his team-mates were expecting.

Silly decision and his team are right back where they started.

France 14-0 Wales

20:44 , Alex Young

24min: Ramos converts. What do Wales have now?

TRY FRANCE!

20:43 , Alex Young

23min: The other winger gets on the scoreboard as Bielle-Biarrey’s run behind Adams is spotted by Ramos to run through.

Easy peasy.

20:41 , Alex Young

22min: Attissogbe sees a gap and looks for his second of the night, but this times there are enough red shirts in the way.

France 7-0 Wales

20:38 , Alex Young

19min: Ramos converts.

TRY FRANCE!

20:37 , Alex Young

18min: That is glorious!

Dupont waits and waits and then pings an absolute beauty for Attissogbe to run onto and dive over.

Stunner.

20:35 , Alex Young

15min: France drive at the line but again the Welsh defence stands firm. They will be happy with this opening half an hour.

20:34 , Alex Young

14min: Heart-in-mouth time for Wales as another fumble under pressure allows Boudehent to punt the ball along the ground and towards the posts... but Dupont cannot collect without knocking on.

Scrum around five metres out.

20:32 , Alex Young

12min: Yet more frustrations for Wales, who work the ball out the scrum and across the pitch without spotting a gap. Alldritt then wins a pen.

20:30 , Alex Young

10min: Thomas looks for Rogers down the left wing, but Ramos jumps with him, there’s a fumble and Williams boots it into touch.

Time for another scrum, then.

20:27 , Alex Young

9min: A few failed scrums and France give away a free kick.

20:25 , Alex Young

7min: Urgh, that’s a waste for Wales as they can clear their lines but fumble the ball to force a scrum.

20:24 , Alex Young

6min: A thrilling burst from Attissogbe gets bums off seats as he skips past one, holds off another but Reffell is there to stop him in his tracks.

Wales win a penalty with France not releasing.

20:22 , Alex Young

4min: Wainwright comes off badly and is replaced by Reffell in a blood sub.

20:21 , Alex Young

3min: Frantic start as France win a penalty inside the Wales 22 and Dupont goes for the line. He looks certain to get over but is halted by three in red.

20:20 , Alex Young

2min: Ramos thumps a superb kick from inside his own half and into touch for a line-out inside the Wales 22.

Kick-off!

20:17 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go.

20:13 , Alex Young

A minute’s applause in tribute to France Under-18 international Medhi Narjissi, who was swept away by the sea off the coast of Cape Town last year.

A tragic story.

20:09 , Alex Young

The Stade de France is lit up by fireworks and a great light show.

This is something else. If the Welsh were not already feeling overawed, well...

20:08 , Alex Young

...and there’s back in the tunnel. The Six Nations begins in about seven minutes.

20:00 , Alex Young

Not long now, the players are heading back to the dressing rooms.

19:47 , Alex Young

A huge night awaits the Welsh.

Dan Biggar's prediction on ITV Sport

19:39 , Alex Young

"If Wales pull off a result tonight, it would be one of the greatest upsets in Six Nations history given the form of the two teams.

"France, in Paris, are really strong and Wales' 2024 was miserable. Some say that Wales tonight have a free shot - which they do - but they just keep losing and it adds and adds to the pressure.

"It would be a huge, huge upset."

Can Gatland survive another whitewash?

19:22 , Alex Young

It wasn't long ago that Warren Gatland was regarded as one of the world's top rugby coaches. A disastrous second spell in charge of Wales is damaging his reputation, though. Under the New Zealander, Wales — a proud rugby nation — has just gone an entire calendar year without a win for the first time since 1937 and is on a record 12-match losing run.

Five of those defeats came in last year's Six Nations, where the Welsh finished last for the first time since 2003. With Italy — the perennial wooden-spoon winner — steadily improving under coach Gonzalo Quesada, Wales looks primed for another whitewash that could spell the end for Gatland.

Will Dupont be the difference?

19:14 , Alex Young

For many, France scrum-half Antoine Dupont is the world's best rugby player. In 2021, he was player of the year and has been player of the championship in the Six Nations a record-tying three times.

France missed Dupont in last year's Six Nations, when he stepped away to focus on playing sevens for France at the Paris Olympics. Naturally, he starred in France's run to the gold medal but is back in 15s and just led the French to a third straight win over the All Blacks.

Warren Gatland speaks

18:56 , Alex Young

"I think there is more pressure on them because of the expectation from their fans. They expect them to go out there, throw the ball around, score tries and entertain everyone.

"Sometimes teams can go and overplay, particularly early on, try things and make mistakes and this gives you opportunities."

Fabien Galthie speaks

18:46 , Alex Young

"It's quite a long competition but it's also like a sprint, which is quite astonishing, so it's like a 400m race.

"For these reasons, the opening game - whoever you face - remains special, and one to be approached with caution and motivation."

18:38 , Alex Young

A little over 90 minutes until kick-off in Paris.

18:30 , Alex Young

A Wales team in the midst of a record losing run could simply not have asked for a tougher start to this Six Nations campaign than opening night away in Paris.

With the likes of Dupont and Ntamack back in the fold, France are favourites for the title with good reason and will be eager to put on a show in this curtain-raiser to send an early warning shot to Ireland, who host England in Dublin on Saturday.

Wales can be forgiven for perhaps already having one eye on next weekend’s trip to Rome, which will likely go a long way to deciding if they are staring down the barrel of another winless campaign and wooden spoon.

Gatland needs to start picking up results fast but it is extremely difficult to see how they can even employ much by way of damage limitation here, much less stun fancied France, who have supreme attacking threats all over the park.

Their only hope for a somewhat respectable night is that they catch Les Bleus a little cold in round one, with Galthie’s side not yet firing on all cylinders. But even that seems a very tall order.

France to win, by at least 20 points.

Lineups

18:23 , Alex Young

France XV: Ramos; Attissogbe, Barassi, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey; Ntamack, Dupont (c); Gros, Mauvaka, Atonio; Roumat, Meafou; Cros, Boudehent, Alldritt

Replacements: Marchand, Baille, Colombe, Auradou, Guillard, Jegou, Le Garrec, Gailleton

Wales XV: L Williams; Rogers, Tompkins, Watkin, Adams; B Thomas, T Williams; G Thomas, Lloyd, H Thomas; Rowlands, Jenkins; Botham, Morgan (c), Wainwright

Replacements: Dee, Smith, Assiratti, F Thomas, Reffell, R Williams, Edwards, Murray

Wales team news

18:12 , Alex Young

As for Wales, Taulupe Faletau has been left out of the squad as he’s not quite ready to play.

Josh Adams and Liam Williams do provide some experience, along with centres Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin, and Dafydd Jenkins is fit again to start at lock.

Henry Thomas and Evan Lloyd make their first starts in the front row, with Keiron Assiratti among the replacements after reportedly struggling with a back spasm.

There are only four of the same players in the starting XV from the side that were comfortably beaten by South Africa in the autumn - Will Rowlands, James Botham, Jac Morgan and Ben Thomas are the surviving quartet.

Fly-half Sam Costelow will not be available for the Six Nations after breaking his collarbone playing for Scarlets in the Challenge Cup earlier this month, with Ben Thomas taking the No10 shirt.

Wales’ fortunes are not helped at all by a raft of other absentees including captain Dewi Lake, who will miss the whole competition after bicep surgery. Back-rower Morgan steps up as skipper in his absence, with Lloyd at hooker.

Adam Beard, Mason Grady, Archie Griffin, Ryan Elias and Ben Carter are some of the other players currently unavailable for Wales due to injury, while Gatland has made some notable omissions from his tournament squad including Gareth Anscombe, Rio Dyer, Cameron Winnett, Taine Plumtree and Max Llewellyn.

France team news

18:04 , Alex Young

Antoine Dupont was back on 15-a-side France duty in the autumn, but Les Bleus have now been further boosted by the return of fly-half Romain Ntamack, who starts alongside his Toulouse team-mate as their first-choice half-back pairing is finally reunited with Ntamack having not played internationally since the summer of 2023 due to injury.

Star wing Damian Penaud is out with a toe complaint, leading to a start for Pau’s 20-year-old Theo Attissogbe out wide.

Centres Jonathan Danty and Gael Fickou are also sidelined at the moment, with Pierre-Louis Barassi partnering Yoram Moefana in a new midfield partnership, but wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey is fit to start despite dealing with an inner ear issue of late and Thomas Ramos shifts from fly-half back to 15. Mathieu Jalibert has not been picked for the matchday squad.

There’s a first start in the French second row for Alexandre Roumat, while Paul Boudehent fills in at openside flanker with former captain Charles Ollivon missing the entire Six Nations after knee surgery.

Anthony Jelonch, Thibaud Flament, Romain Taofifenua and Reda Wardi are among France’s other most notable injury absentees.

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou are both among the replacements after aggravated rape charges against the pair were dismissed by an Argentine court in December.

France have six forwards on the bench, with the only cover for the backline provided by scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec and centre Emilien Gailleton.

How to watch France vs Wales

17:54 , Alex Young

TV channel: In the UK, France vs Wales is being shown live and free-to-air tonight on ITV1 and Welsh-language channel S4C, with coverage beginning on both at 7:30pm GMT.

Live stream: Free coverage is also available online via ITVX and S4C Clic.

Welcome

17:47 , Alex Young

Good evening and welcome to the London Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Six Nations clash between France and Wales.

The hosts will be looking to make a comfortable start to what they hope is a winning tournament, with the bookies making them favourites to win the whole thing before a ball is kicked.

Wales, meanwhile, have not won a game since the 2023 World Cup. That was 13 Tests ago. Tonight is expected to be unlucky no.13.

Kick-off is at 8.15pm. Stick with us.