Player ratings: Back three impress for France


Here's our France player ratings following their 14-13 loss to Wales at the Principality Stadium.

15 Benjamin Fall – A positional change did little to stop his flow in what has been an impressive tournament for the Montpellier man. 7/10

14 Gael Fickou – A constant French bright spark with his fleet footed running lines. Took try excellently. 7/10

13 Mathieu Bastareaud – Captain for the night was influential in everything his side did both offensively and defensively. Won numerous turnovers. 7/10

12 Geoffrey Doumayrou – A relatively quiet night for the La Rochelle centre who failed to cut the lines he often does and surrendered possession unnecessarily. 5/10

11 Remy Grosso – France’s main source of go forward ball when in open space. Slightly suspect in defence but no major errors. 7/10

10 Francois Trinh-Duc – Flapped as the cover defender for Scott Williams’ try and failed to stamp himself on the contest. Shanked routine, possible match-winning penalty. General shocker. 3/10

9 Maxime Machenaud – Forward dominance allowed him momentum but a floundering half-back partner didn’t help his cause. 6/10

8 Marco Tauleigne – Even if he’d done little else, his carry that won France a kickable penalty on 67 minutes where he fended off Welsh defenders with ease was enough to warrant his start. 7/10

7 Yacouba Camara – Not as influential as in previous weeks; bordering on non-existent with single figure carries and tackles. 4/10

6 Wenceslas Lauret – Endeavoured throughout to influence the game but didn’t get enough opportunity to do so. 6/10

5 Sebastien Vahaamahina – Helped France gain the advantage at scrum time but conceded several turnovers. 6/10

4 Paul Gabrillagues – Carried little, made little and tackled occasionally. Helped France at scrum time but little else to write home about. 5/10

3 Cedate Gomes Sa – Replaced before the hour mark after having little influence on proceedings. 5/10

2 Adrien Pelisse – Carried and scrummaged well before exiting the game after 50 minutes. 6/10

1 Jefferson Poirot – Helped France at scrum time but other than that was quiet in both defence and attack. 6/10

Replacements:

16 Camille Chat – Carried well when he came on and maintained scrum dominance. 6/10

17 Dany Priso – Made an impact in the loose off the bench with his fellow replacement prop. 7/10

18 Rabah Slimani – Excellent when he came on at scrum time and around the field. 8/10

19 Bernard Le Roux – Not on long enough.

20 Mathieu Babillot – Came on a racked up a decent tackle count. 5/10

21 Baptiste Couilloud – Entered the contest but didn’t affect things either in defence or attack. 5/10

22 Lionel Beauxis – Not on long enough.

23 Geoffrey Palis – Did not feature.

by Sam Meade

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