Wales Suffers Heavy Defeat to France in Six Nations Opener

Wales suffered a disappointing 43-0 defeat to France in their Six Nations opener, with coach Warren Gatland acknowledging his team's discipline and finishing let them down.

Wales suffered a humbling defeat at the hands of France in the Six Nations, going down 43-0 in Paris on Friday. The loss marked Wales' 13th successive defeat in the competition and their first scoreless outing in 18 years, since a 51-0 loss to France in 1998. The one-sided nature of the match was reflected in the scoreline, with Wales' inexperienced team struggling to make an impact.

Wales' discipline was a major concern, as they conceded 12 penalties and had two players sent to the sin-bin. This lack of discipline ultimately proved costly, as France capitalized on Wales' mistakes to run in a convincing victory. Captain Jac Morgan acknowledged that his team's discipline had let them down, saying, “It was a tough night, we knew how dangerous France could be but our discipline probably let us down and France capitalised on it.”

Despite the disappointing result, Morgan remained upbeat about his team's prospects, highlighting the promise and talent within the squad. “We weren't accurate enough or clinical enough but there was a lot of good there, a lot of promise, we have to stay tight as a group,” he said. Morgan emphasized the importance of perseverance and hard work, adding, “We want to keep getting better and improving. We have a lot of talent and we will keep on working and come through.”

Wales began the match against France with a promising display, but the tide turned decisively in France's favor once scrum-half Antoine Dupont took control of the game. The French team then proceeded to dominate, scoring seven tries through their wingers in the first half and their powerful forwards in the second. The one-sided nature of the match was a sobering reality check for Wales.

A history making defeat ❌

Wales' 43-0 loss to France means they have failed to register a single point in a Six Nations match for the first time since 1998 - back when it was still the Five Nations0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/4U5htl59gg

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) January 31, 2025

Coach Warren Gatland acknowledged that his team had tried to play positively, but ultimately came up short. “We tried to play some rugby, probably on a couple of plays overplayed a little bit,” Gatland said. Despite the disappointing result, Gatland found some positives in his team's performance, noting, “I thought we scrummaged well and the forwards worked really hard, in terms of trying to get front-foot ball.” However, he refused to make excuses for the defeat, saying, “But there's no excuses about the result. I thought we created a couple of opportunities and we didn't finish them.”

Gatland also expressed some frustration with the refereeing decisions, feeling that some calls had gone against his team. “Probably the penalty call wasn't in our favour, I thought there were a couple of tough calls,” he said. Looking ahead to their next match, Gatland emphasized the importance of bouncing back quickly. “We've just got to make sure we get back on the horse and look forward to preparing for next week.”

The stakes are indeed high for Wales, as their next match away to Italy could have a significant bearing on their Six Nations campaign. Former Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar underscored the importance of the match, telling ITV, “For me, this game next week is the biggest match in Welsh rugby for the last 15-20 years. It's a huge match. I'm not saying that light-heartedly.” Another defeat could leave Wales facing the very real prospect of a second successive Six Nations campaign without a win.