They went for a five-metre lineout and a few phases later neat interplay between Ntamack and Damian Penaud allowed Vakatawa to cut a sharp line inside, wrongfoot the Welsh defence and score. There was to be another let-off when Ntamack hit a post again with a penalty and, just before the interval, Wales fans were extremely glad advantage was being played when a long looping pass from Ken Owens was intercepted and Guirado momentarily thought he had scored his side’s fourth try. France attack through Lauret and Ntamack around halfway, before Ntamack grubbers into Wales' 22, with Williams just about managing to clear. #WALvFRA. The entire of France's backline have, to a man, outplayed their Welsh counterparts.

Rugby World Cup semi-finals | Mick Cleary's verdict, Transgender women should not play elite women's rugby, says world governing body, Duncan Hodge under no illusions as to size of task facing his Edinburgh side at Munster, How Exeter Chiefs navigated their way through the longest season ever, Gallagher Premiership 2019-20 season review: Northampton Saints, Gallagher Premiership 2019-20 season review: Gloucester, Gallagher Premiership 2019-20 season review: Sale Sharks, Exclusive interview: Meet Jake Woolmore and Sam Bedlow - the housemates who could lead Bristol Bears to the Premiership title, Pat Lam reveals he wakes at 4am to check Bristol Bears' coronavirus test results, Jonny May admits lockdown came at an ideal time for him after a testing few months, Premiership Rugby to change regulations after criticism over Sale coronavirus saga, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot survives ban from England matches but RFU will 'educate fans', England Women players to 'mitigate' coronavirus risk ahead of Premier 15s restart, Malakai Fekitoa exclusive interview: Hunting wild pigs, climbing palm trees, a devastating childhood accident... and key to Wasps revival.
Wales played France in a World Cup knockout match. Did you know? A few minutes later Vakatawa broke through the Welsh defence, passed the ball inside to Romain Ntamack and quick hands to Antoine Dupont and then Charles Ollivon allowed the back-rower to run in under the posts. Both enigmatic France and dazzling Japan have the ability to upset the apple cart today, but it will have to be an almighty effort against Wales and South Africa sides that have been going well throughout the tournament thus far. So I don’t have a problem with the decision. Is it going to come back to haunt them?

Even the young guns that step up into the firing line seem to be imbued with that never-say-die attitude. Hang on, the TMO is looking at Vahaamahin'a actions. There's no doubt that when France get it right, it's gorgeous to watch.

Gareth Davies (Tomos Williams 54); Wyn Jones (Rhys Carre 63), Ken Owens (Elliot Dee 76), Tom Francis (Dillon Lewis 63), Jake Ball (Adam Beard 63), Alun Wyn Jones (captain), Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi (Ross Moriarty 28). Wales have just beaten France by one point, eight years later, after Les Bleus had a … It was a game-changing moment and instantly led to comparisons to the 2011 semi-final when Warburton's red card tipped the scales in France's favour.

It wasn't the prettiest game in the world, but we showed great character. Wales managed to nab a try through flanker Wainwright against the run of play, but they mus stay patient and stick to their own game-plan.

Dupont clears up to halfway as Williams runs it back. France made a half-time change with injured fly-half Ntamack replaced by Camille Lopez and looked comfortable until Vahaamahina had his inexplicable red-mist moment. Wales were rattled by an aggressive French start as their big ball-carriers made headway. Alun Wyn Jones equalled Brian O’Driscoll’s caps mark of 141 Tests, meaning Richie McCaw (NZ, 148) and Sergio Parisse (Italy, 142) are the only players who have played more Internationals. Wales thwart the French maul before Vakatawa starts a mazy run off first phase.
Williams has to try and play it as it touched a Welsh player in flight, but he can't keep it in so France have the lineout 10 metres out from the Wales line. France bizarrely put no No 8 into the scrum and, lo-and-behold, the ball squirts out at the back for T Williams to pounce on. Medard, Ntamack, and Vakatawa are having their best games in a French shirt, while Penaud and Dupont continue to ooze class in everything they do. It was also announced that ten French cities would be hosting games, with the … Making up for his earlier indiscretion, the replacement forward bulldozed over six minutes from time before Biggar kicked the conversion that broke French hearts. All rights reserved. Wales 20-19 France: Rugby World Cup 2019, quarter-final – as it happened. Wales had to reply quickly following such an unsettling opening, and they delivered courtesy of a 12th-minute try for Wainwright. They cannot get over the gainline, before Parkes throws a risky pass - Huget gets up quickly to pressure - and North is bundled into touch by Vakatawa. France: Medard; Penaud, Vakatawa, Fickou, Huget; Ntamack, Dupont; Poirot, Guirado (capt), Slimani, Le Roux, Vahaamahina, Lauret, Ollivon, Alldritt. France blew them away in the first half and they struggled to beat a 14 man team for nearly the whole 2nd half. Oh boy, even the most ardent Welsh fan has to admit that was an embarrassing way to squeak through! France break immediately from the restart! Gatland's side play South Africa next Sunday in Yokohama. But just when France looked like holding out for a famous victory, Moriarty popped up after a monstrous Welsh scrum. We'll take that win despite the fact it was a little ugly. Both World Cup matches between France and Wales have featured a red card.



We are here still. France scrum 10 metres out from their own line, then. Headlines saying ‘phenomenal Wales’. Which Bundesliga team should you support? A pre-match prediction?

Owen Watkin was Davies' replacement for the biggest game of his career with full-back Leigh Halfpenny coming in on the bench. France need to convert those. Seriously? The tournament was moved to the proposed September–October dates with the tournament structure remaining as it was. Parkes hacks downfield, but it's too long and Ntamack can dot it down easily over the France line, to restart with a 22 drop-out. A NOTE ABOUT RELEVANT ADVERTISING: We collect information about the content (including ads) you use across this site and use it to make both advertising and content more relevant to you on our network and other sites. They showed not only courage because they had to make up the numerical disadvantage but also a lot of panache and had a lot of opportunities to score. They had never before overturned a deficit of more than ten at the RWC.

Relive the action as Wales clawed their way back to victory over France and into the Rugby World Cup semi-finals. It required a TMO check to ensure the ball had not gone forward from the rip but the try stood and Biggar added the crucial conversion to give Wales the lead for the first time in the match. Last modified on Sun 20 Oct 2019 19.20 BST. Lopez is straight into the pocket and he's a long way out. This was a yellow card for Wales' substitute No 8.