France vs Wales as it happened: 18-minute scrum ends with French victory
Relive France's dramatic 98th-minute win over Wales in Paris
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Your support makes all the difference.France and Wales battle in Paris in an effort to claim second place in the Six Nations championship, should Ireland slip-up when they take on England in the final match of the day, while the Welsh will also be gunning for fourth place in the world rankings in an effort to seal a top seed in the 2019 Rugby World Cup draw. Follow the latest here.
- France vs Wales kicks off at 14:45
- Both Wales and France can finish as high as second and as low as fifth
- Wales need to beat France and hope Ireland lose to claim fourth in the world rankings
- Teams:
- France: B Dulin; N Nakaitaci, R Lemerat, G Fickou, V Vakatawa; C Lopez, B Serin; C Baille, G Guira, R Slimani, S Vahaamahina, Y Maestri, F Sanconnie, K Gourdon, L Picamoles.
- Replacements: C Chat, U Atonio, E Ben Arous, J Le Devedec, B Le Roux, A Dupont, F Trinh-Duc, Y Huget.
- Wales: L Halfpenny; G North, J Davies, S Williams, L Williams; D Biggar, R Webb; R Evans, K Owens, T Francis, J Ball, A W Jones, S Warburton, J Tipuric, R Moriarty.
- Replacements: S Baldwin, N Smith, S Lee, L Charteris, T Faletau, G Davies, S Davies, J Roberts.
Follow the live action below...
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Preview...
What time does it start?
France vs Wales kicks off at 14:45 at the Stade de France.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BBC One from 14:25. You can also follow the match with The Independent’s live blog here.
19 mins: They opt for a kick at the posts and Leigh Halfpenny obliges to make it France 10 Wales 3.
22 mins: Wales finally look involved in the game with the man advantage with Liam Williams going on a couple of runs down the left.
25 mins: Serin has gone off at scrum-half with Dupont replacing him behind the ruck for France.
27 mins: Wales get another penalty for offside around the halfway line and Halfpenny goes for the posts. What a weapon of a right boot he has to be able to offer than from this distance! And he makes it with ease! Fantastic kick to make it France 10 Wales 6. Vakatawa is back on the pitch now as France survive without conceding a try.
31 mins: Wales are trying to do something here but France are defending well and tuning over well. They look the more dangerous on the attack so far.
33 mins: France's defence looks pretty mighty today as they hold up George North in midfield to steal the ball and then dominate the resulting scrum. They've been very impressive so far.
37 mins: France's scrum has been so much stronger than Wales' but the Welsh get it away and a clever chip from Biggar gets the right bounce and is collected by Williams. Wales get the penalty advantage and nothing comes of it so Alun Wyn Jones tells Halfpenny to kick for the posts. Easy one, this, and it's France 10 Wales 9
Half time: France 10 Wales 9
Very close this one with Wales putting some decent moves together but not challenging in the right areas. France have looked the more dangerous in attack.
And we're back underway in Paris as France restart the game.
41 mins: A brave bit of defending by Leigh Halfpenny there to dive at the feet and knees of the on-rushing French attack after an unlucky bounce of the ball. He rescued Wales there.
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