Wales have been surprised by France’s selection for the Six Nations opener in Paris on Friday. They had been expecting a beast of a pack and duly got one with an average weight heading towards 19st but were wrong-footed by an element of beauty behind, where the bulldozing centre Mathieu Bastareaud does not even make the bench.
Jacques Brunel has mixed brute force at forward with flair behind. He has paired the experienced Wesley Fofana in midfield with the uncapped 19-year-old Romain Ntamack, whose father, Emile, was a try scorer on the only other occasion France opened a Six Nations against Wales, in Cardiff in 2000. Neither player has Bastareaud’s brawn and it is a signal change of direction by a side who have finished in the top half of the table only once in the last seven years.
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“We had expected Bastareaud to be included but they have gone with a different attacking option,” said Warren Gatland, who named Gareth Anscombe and Tomos Williams at half-back, the second time the Cardiff Blues teammates will start a Test together. “What really surprised me was that Bastareaud is not in their 23: I thought that if he was not used as a starter he would come on as an impact player.
“They have not got the biggest half-backs in the world but neither have we. I expect they will look to be pretty direct down that channel and so will we. It will be tough for Ntamack: he is learning and doing well but players say when you go out in your first international, things happen quicker than ever before and it can take a few games to adjust. When Jonathan Davies made his debut he was like a rabbit in headlights but now he is a world-class centre.”
Wales’ pack are virtually a stone a man lighter than France’s but Gatland believes that can work to his side’s advantage. “They will have a go at our scrum and try to maul us off the park and they will look to slow the game down and play off their scrum-half. We have to keep the ball on the park and not be afraid to kick long and find some grass. We know we will have to be on our mettle.”
Brunel, who took over from Guy Novès as the France coach at the beginning of last year, said Bastareaud may still have a role to play. “It is the first time in 10 matches that he is not with us and he is important in our group. I have been looking at Romain for a while and he has shown he can adapt to moving up a level. Age for me does not come into it: I chose another 19-year old [the fly-half Matthieu Jalibert] 12 months ago.
“I am not looking any further forward than Wales. We need to win to create momentum to take into the next game. At this point, we cannot afford to have long-term goals because we have just come together and there are five new players in the group. It is just about starting the Six Nations well.”
France have the experienced Morgan Parra at scrum-half, while Williams made his Test debut against South Africa last June in Washington, when he partnered Anscombe in the 22-20 victory. “I just want to get out there,” the 24-year-old said. “It will be the biggest stage I have played on. There will be pressure but I am looking forward to it.”