France 43-0 Wales: Player Ratings as Wales suffer their 13th consecutive defeat as Dupont guides Les Bleus to a comfortable win

01/31/2025 05:23 PM

Wales head coach Warren Gatland, ahead of the game, stated that France "are slow starters", and perhaps that statement was correct for the opening 15 minutes, but once Fabien Galthie's side got going, they were unstoppable. 

Tries from Gregory Alldritt, Emilien Gailleton, and Julian Marchand and braces from Theo Atissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarrey saw France easily pull apart a bruised Welsh side. The question now for Wales is where do they go from here. Next week in Rome is a must win for Gatland’s men.

Tries: Theo Atissogbe (18, 33), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (23, 40), Julien Marchand (54), Emilien Gailleton (67), Gregory Alldritt (77)

Conversions: Thomas Ramos (18,23,33,40)

Penalties: 

Red Card: Romain Ntamack (70)

Wales: 

Tries:

Conversions: 

Penalties: 

Yellow Card: Evan Lloyd (30), Freddie Thomas (75)

15. Liam Williams- 5

30-year-old Liam Williams in the build-up to the match, announced to the media that he wanted 100 Caps for Wales, and when asked about the upcoming Lions Tour, he said: "Never say never". Wales needed the experience of Williams in this encounter but he never seemed to get going, as it was a quiet evening for the fullback. At times in the encounter, he was guilty of defending too narrowly, allowing Dupont to work his magic in exploiting gaps on the outside.    

14. Tom Rogers

The Carmarthen-born winger, who has never played in the Six Nations earned his sixth cap after last featuring for Wales during the 2023 World Cup warm-up matches. Although defensively, there wasn’t much chased well and put pressure on the French backline under the high ball but Balrie Murray replaced him early into the second half.  

13. Nick Tompkins- 4 

He was the main ball carrier for the visitors in attack as he ran some great lines. However, a knock-on before the 15-minute mark nearly proved costly for his side as Paul Boudehent pounced on the loose ball and put his side in an attacking threat. He was another trying to use his experience but nothing was coming off for the Saracens man. 

12. Owen Watkin- 3 

The 28-year-old's night in Paris was cut short after a big collision around the middle of the b on 26 minutes. The inside centre showed some great handling skills but didn’t really do anything that was eye-catching. Debutant Dan Edwards replaced him. 

11. Josh Adam- 5

Adams was on two players this evening hitting a milestone as he ran out for his 60th appearance for Wales. The 29-year-old is another player that has been a welcome return for Gatlan's squad for this Championship as the Cardiff Rugby player is try scoring machine as he crossed the whitewash on 21 occasions scoring 105 points. 

10. Ben Thomas- 6 

There were a lot of questions going into this game, such as whether the 26-year-old should be starting at 10, and this start in Paris was only his third on the international stage. He didn't stay at ten for long as Owen Watkin went off injured. There was at times some aimless kicking but Thomas attacked well and was quick off the line to put pressure on the hosts' defence.  

9. Tomos Williams- 6 

Williams is another player wanting to be selected for Andy Farrell's Lions squad. He's been quality for Gloucester Rugby in the Gallagher Premiership and carried that form into this encounter. The 30-year-old who was playing his 60th game wasn’t able to make much of an impact as he probably wanted to due to the solid defence of the home side. One of his main attributes in the encounter was his defence around the breakdown area. He was replaced by Rhodri Williams on 70 minutes. 

1. Gareth Thomas- 6 

Thomas alongside Will Rowlands, had the most experience in the Welsh pack albeit only 35 appearances, but he set the tone for the rest of his teammates to follow and that was to be strong in defence. One noticeable collision was on Uini Antonio early in the game and the 31-year-old seemed to hold firm at scrum time against him. If truth be told, he was head and shoulders above everyone esle in the front five. 

2. Evan Lloyd- 4

Cardiff Rugby's Lloyd couldn’t have asked for a much harder first start for Wales as he was thrown straight into the deep end at the Stade de France. In the Autumn Nations Series, Wales' lineout success was at 85.4%, which was the second-best out of all competing Six Nations sides. However the hooker was shown the Championship's first yellow card after making a high tackle and that sin bin proved a costly one. Despite all this he was decent at lineout but let himself down with the yellow card. 

3. Henry Thomas- 5 

Thomas, like his counterpart, Lloyd in the front row, was also making his first start for Wales, and the tighthead has a lot of experience playing in France after stints at both Castres Olympique and Montpellier Herault Rugby in the Top 14. That experience of playing in France perhaps showed as he was solid at scrum time and was a great asset in defence. He was eventually replaced on 45 minutes by Kieron Assiratti. 

4. Will Rowlands- 5

The Racing 92 player was great around the breakdown area and with being one of the more senior players on the pitch he needed to have a big game. He was a strong ball carrier but like his Autumn Nations it was still below par from the second row as there is still alot of gears to through. 

5. Dafydd Jenkins- 5

After having shoulder and knee operations last year, Six Nations Captain from the 2024 Championship and the youngest Captain Wales ever featured. He played the full 80 minutes, and perhaps that was needed for Jenkins on the international stage. He made some powerful hits and looked hungry for the ball but was underwhelming.  

6. James Botham- 6

With Aaron Wainwright going off early in the contest, Botham stepped into cover Wainwright and played a great game around the breakdown area and carried well. He was good at quick thinking close to the line at one point as well which meant the French couldn’t score. 

7. Jac Morgan (C) – 6

Returning to captain duties for the first time since the Rugby World Cup, and like all his counterparts in the second row, he had a great showing. He carried well in attack as he tried to lead by example as nothing was going his sides way of Wales. 

8. Aaron Wainwright- N/a 

With the experienced 104 cap number eight, Taulupe Faletau sidelined due to injury. Wainwright needed to impress as the 34-year-old is expected to return for next week's game in Rome against Italy. However, after just three minutes, he was taken off for a blood injury and was replaced by Leicester Tigers, Tommy Reffell. 

Replacements: 

16. Elliot Dee- 5

17. Nicky Thomas- 5 

18. Keiron Assiratti- 4

19. Freddie Thomas- 3 

20. Tommy Reffell- 5 

21. Rhodri Williams- 4

22. Dan Edwards- 6 

23. Blair Murray- 4

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