Dominating the buildup to France’s Six Nations opener was the imminent return of its gilded charnière – the “hinge”, a term used for the half-back partnership – after nearly a year and a half apart. With Les Bleus, Antoine Dupont had last played alongside Romain Ntamack in the ill-fated World Cup warm-up against Scotland when the latter suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament that sidelined him for eight months.
While the captain had already retuned from his Olympic exploits in the autumn, there was a sense that the Toulouse pair could finally elevate France back to the heights of the 2022 Grand Slam. That year, they had already established themselves as the most-used partnership in the history of the XV de France.
On Friday at the Stade de France, the hosts appeared in control from start to finish, despite never really hitting full stride. Dupont would duly punish a comparatively inexperienced but valiant Wales by setting up three of four first-half tries.
While he was brought off early in the second half with a calf issue, France’s orchestrator-in-chief was once again the standout player, alongside an imperious Grégory Alldritt. His substitution was “more preventative than anything else”, Dupont clarified after the match – reassuring fans that he will be in the squad at Twickenham, unlike Ntamack.
There would be flashes of the near-telepathic understanding between the two in the first half, with the fly-half taking a back seat and acting as a facilitator for Dupont’s habitual brilliance. The first red card of his professional career, though, brought an early end to his return to the national team setup. While Fabien Galthié has explained that Les Bleus will appeal the sending-off, Ntamack’s involvement next Saturday appears improbable at best.
His absence offers an unexpected shot at redemption for Matthieu Jalibert, who was again dropped from the squad before Friday night’s match. The Bordeaux No 10’s rocky relationship with the France staff came to the fore when he was initially dropped for the latter two games in the last autumn internationals. In his place, the versatile Thomas Ramos impressed and ostensibly established himself as France’s second-choice fly-half.
With eight points in the first half, Ramos overtook Christophe Lamaison as France’s second all-time topscorer. While he struggled a couple of times in the air, the Toulouse man set the tone for another display of technical ease with a 50-22 within the first two minutes of the match. Should he switch positions against England, the ensuing gap left at full-back could be filled by any one of Romain Buros, Léo Barré (who missed Friday’s match due to a concussion), Louis Bielle-Biarrey, and Théo Attissogbé.
The Pau winger, the latest under-20 world champion to graduate to the senior team after first appearing this summer, ensured that Damian Penaud’s absence was scarcely felt. With four tries in his first four caps, last year’s Top 14 breakout player of the season is already putting up scoring rates similar to Penaud and Bielle-Biarrey. “I’m staying level-headed on the situation, but I do have ambition,” he said. ”I know Damian is ahead of me, but that only motivates me to work hard to reach the level of the best French wingers.”
On the opposite wing, Bielle-Biarrey’s proficiency is no longer a surprise and his 16 tries in as many outings this season have cemented his place among the world’s finest in his position.
After a middling 2024, last year’s captain in Alldritt now appears back to his best. La Rochelle’s No 8 proved to be the main driving force with the ball in hand, on top of a ubiquitous defensive display. While aided by Wales’ slow attacks, the stand-in centre Pierre-Louis Barassi and Bordeaux’s Yoram Moefana were also impressive in defence, despite limited attacking output.
The celebratory mood in the second half would be interrupted, though, by two brief moments of protest from the French crowd. The introductions of Oscar Jégou and Hugo Auradou, in the 50th and 60th minutes respectively, were greeted to whistles from sections of the Stade de France. The two players were recently cleared of charges of aggravated rape following their arrest during France’s tour of Argentina last summer, having returned home in September following their detention in the western city of Mendoza. The plaintiff has appealed the decision.
“There was a legal trial, as there should be, but from the moment they’re available for selection, they have a right to a second chance. They have a right to redemption,” insisted Galthié after the match. Their call-ups have nevertheless proved divisive among French fans.
“Having an 80% win rate doesn’t mean much if we’re not winning titles,” Dupont said on the eve of the game. Les Bleus are all too aware of the pressure to win more than the solitary tournament that this generation’s talents should command. A straightforward win over a stuttering Welsh side has confirmed their status as Ireland’s main challengers, but the real tests will come in the next few weeks.
“I think some players towards the end had their minds on Twickenham, and rightly so,” the captain said after the 43-0 victory. Emerging from their three away trips unscathed, before hosting Scotland mid-March, would indeed show that team is well on its way to finally fulfilling its lofty potential.
