Wales 29-12 France
Sat 15 March, 2008
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Wales won their 10th Six Nations Grand Slam today, on the centenary of their first, and they did it in front of a record 75,000+ capacity crowd at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

While France came into the match having never lost a championship game in Cardiff since 1996, the air of confidence around the city was overwhelming. There was just no way Wales were ever going to lose this match.

The early stages of the game were not ones to be remembered by Frenchman David Skrela, who kicked off backwards, and hooked and sliced his kicks all over the pitch, putting needless pressure on his team.

James Hook gave the home side the lead with an 18th-minute kick, which was cancelled out shortly after by an Elissalde penalty. And an uncharacteristic error from Dusautoir handed Hook another easy kick at goal, and before long, Wales found themselves out front with an early 9-3 lead.

Much of the first half was dominated by midfield play, both team cancelling each other out with superb rugby tackling and moves. But Wales’ defence showed some cracks in the final few minutes of the first half, when Henson made a head-high tackle on Ouedraogo, leading him straight to the sin bin.

Elissalde pulled a penalty kick back shortly before half time, to make it 9-6 at the break.
In the second half Wales handled the pressure of having to play with 14 men well, and Hook missed a great opportunity to score from a penalty in the French 22 but sent it wide.

Elissalde made no mistake with his third penalty to level the scores, and Henson’s return to play became all the more important to stem the flow.

Warren Gatland replaced Hook at fly-half with Stephen Jones, along with hooker Matthew Rees for Huw Bennett, a tactical alteration that only seemed to make Wales stronger.

But it was France’s own errors that cost them their next points, when Les Bleus spilled the ball 40 yards from their own line, allowing Shane Williams to pounce and score a Try. The score took Williams clear of Clerc as the 2008 tournament’s leading Try scorer, and ahead of Gareth Thomas on 41, in Wales’ all-time scoring list.

Stephen Jones took the score to 19-9 with a penalty kick, which was followed up by a France penalty, still determined not to go down without a fight. Stephen Jones replied again with a long-range kick at goal to restore the 10 point gap.

Mark Jones broke from inside his own half but was brought down inches from the France line after sprinting almost the entire length of the pitch. But it was Martyn Williams who sent the crowd into raptures, when he picked up a loose ball 25 yards out, and ran through the French defence to score a superb Try.

Wales hammered France by keeping them down, stopping them play, and with their own brand of flair and style. They will be a very hard team to beat next time round if Gatland stays, and the whole of Wales hope he does.

10 Grand Slams is an awesome achievement, and they are not won easily, but for 2008, Wales are the RBS Six Nations Champions, and they did it with a Grand Slam, and Triple Crown.

Teams

Wales
Byrne, M. Jones, Shanklin, Henson, S. Williams, Hook, Phillips, Jenkins, Bennett, A. Jones, Gough, A. Jones, Thomas, M. Williams, R. Jones.

Replacements: S. Jones for Hook (56), Rees for Bennett (56), D. Jones for A. Jones (71), Evans for Gough (71). Not Used: Delve, Peel, Parker

Sin Bin: Henson (40)

France
Pens: Elissalde 3, Yachvili. France: Floch, Clerc, Jauzion, Traille, Malzieu, Skrela, Elissalde, Barcella, Szarzewski, Mas, Nallet, Thion, Dusautoir, Ouedraogo, Bonnaire

Replacements: Heymans for Floch (67), Trinh-Duc for Skrela (63), Yachvili for Elissalde (67), Servat for Szarzewski (44), Poux for Mas (62), Mela for Thion (75), Vermeulen for Ouedraogo (62)

Statistics and Info

Wales
Tries: 2
Cons: 2
Pens: 5

France
Pens: 4

Man of the Match: Martin Williams (WAL)
Referee: Marius Jonker (SA)