In the opening half of France's Guinness Six Nations opener against Wales, Les Bleus looked to be back at their best. Some devastating attacking play would allow them to take a 16-0 lead into half time, and it looked like the Welsh would have to launch the mother of all comebacks to get back into the contest.
The French played some mesmerising rugby in the opening period, scoring a pair of exceptional tries. This effort finished off by Yoann Huget was an example of France at their best, and Wales simply couldn't live with them.
Here's Yoann Huget's try which put France 🇫🇷 10 points clear!
FRA 10-0 WAL
Live on Virgin Media One! 📺#VMTVRugby #GuinnessSixNations #FRAvWAL pic.twitter.com/5xcQhyfwhb— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 1, 2019
The game began to turn right after halftime, however, with a try from Tomos Williams giving the visitors a glimmer of hope. From then on, the French seemed to lose their head.
After his try scoring exploits earlier in the game, winger Huget was asked to deal with a relatively straightforward kick in behind. He proceeded to make an absolute balls of it, allowing George North to bag Wales' second try in the space of five minutes.
Huge mistake from Huget!
The French winger spills it in front of his line and George North swoops in!
Live on Virgin Media One.#FRAvWAL #VMTVRugby #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/lYkqZB0faC— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 1, 2019
Huget seemed happy enough to carry the ball over his own line, only to seem to hesitate at the final moment. Perhaps he did not want to concede the five metre scrum, but what he did give up was much worse. A penalty from Dan Biggar would put Wales in front ten minutes later, meaning they had scored 17 points without reply.
While France would retake the lead via a penalty, another mistake was not too far away. This time it was an incredibly loose pass from Romain Ntamack that allowed North to break away, and there was absolutely no stopping him.
You CANNOT give George North an opportunity like that!
🏃♂️💨#VMTVRugby #FRAvWAL #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/i80xfrt4SC— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) February 1, 2019
What was he thinking? Wales would ultimately hold out to grab the win, securing what looked like an incredibly unlikely victory.
While we always associate France with expansive swashbuckling rugby, isn't the real France all about messing things up in the most spectacular way possible? Allez Les Bleus!
