Three key head-to-heads for Wales v France
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Three key head-to-heads for Wales v France
France play Wales in a Six Nations Test match in Cardiff on Friday on the back of their best winning streak since 2010.
Unbeaten in the championship after the opening three games, the French are seeking a win over the Welsh to set up a potential Grand Slam game against England on March 19.
AFP Sports looks at three key head-to-heads going into the Test at the Principality Stadium:
Dupont/Ntamack v Tomos Williams/Biggar
Antoine Dupont has become an emblematic figure in French rugby. The scrum-half skippers the side and has been pivotal to its success. A hard-hitting busybody in defence, the Toulouse player has also shone in heads-up attacking rugby alongside club teammate Romain Ntamack. "Dupont has a huge influence," Dan Biggar says. "His partnership with Ntamack has flourished and they're in good form. They're going to be huge danger men."
Biggar has stepped into the Wales captaincy boots left empty by the injury to Alun Wyn Jones. The fly-half has thrived since moving out of Wales to ply his club trade at Northampton, silencing the numerous critics who have routinely taken umbrage at what they see as a style of play too defensive for a country famed in the 1970s for its mythical "fly-half factory". Biggar has linked up well with Tomos Williams, who has proved a real livewire at scrum-half, but will have his hands well and truly full dealing with Dupont.
Alldritt v Faletau
Gregory Alldritt, at 24, has firmly established himself as one of the mainstays of a bulky French pack able to impose itself on any rival team. The No 8 leads the stats when it comes to ball-carrying -- 41 times in the opening three games of this campaign -- and as an off-loading forward (five). Add to those a grafting defensive attitude and it easy to see why he is crucial to France's success.
Taulupe Faletau, alongside the rejigged Welsh backrow of Josh Navidi and Seb Davies, faces a tricky evening tying down Alldritt. The Bath No 8 returned to the Test arena after seven months out in Wales' narrow defeat by England, but his quality shone through, making 19 tackles and 13 carries in that game. Wales will be counting on all the consistency the veteran can provide to counter Les Bleus.
Fickou v Jonathan Davies
It is telling that Gael Fickou has come into his own at outside centre after the arrival of Shaun Edwards as defence coach of France. The rugby league legend quickly made Fickou defensive captain of the side and, bolstered from his cross-city move from Stade Francais to Racing 92, he is arguably the form centre in world rugby, as comfortable in the tackle as front-footed attack.
When Edwards worked with Warren Gatland in the Wales set-up, it was the same deal with Jonathan Davies, the go-to man in the wide channel that formed the backbone of the once-renowned Welsh blitz defence. Davies is on the periphery of the set-up now, but gets his chance after Nick Tompkins was concussed. How he deals with Fickou and his barn-storming midfield shadow Jonathan Danty will be key in containing French attack.
M.Schneider--HHA
