France overpower Wales en route to emphatic Six Nations victory in Cardiff

Wales suffered more Guinness Six Nations misery as France romped to a 54-12 victory in Cardiff.

Les Bleus scored eight tries en route to a second bonus-point win that took them back to the top of the table as Wales wilted again for a 13th straight Six Nations defeat.

Emilien Gailleton, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Matthieu Jalibert, Julien Marchand, Theo Attissogbe (two), Charles Ollivon crossed as France transformed a Test match into an exhibition of carefree rugby.

Thomas Ramos added seven conversions as the visitors claimed their biggest Six Nations triumph in the Welsh capital.

This was the fifth time in six games under Steve Tandy that Wales have conceded over 40 points, with tries from Rhys Carre and Mason Grady providing rare comfort for beleaguered hosts.

There were swathes of empty seats in the Principality Stadium amid turbulent times for Welsh rugby.

The official attendance of 57,744 was the lowest in Cardiff for a Six Nations fixture, fewer than the previous smallest crowd of 58,349 against Italy in 2002.

Wales had conceded 34 tries and 248 points under Tandy, and that porous defence was breached inside 90 seconds.

Antoine Dupont’s delicious pass out of the back of the hand sent Attissogbe and Ollivon charging through, and Gailleton was on hand to take the try-scoring pass.

Dupont had a quiet game by his high standards in France’s opening victory over Ireland, but the scrum-half orchestrated matters alongside the outstanding Jalibert.

With the Wales defence sucked in, Jalibert’s inch-perfect kick detected Bielle-Biarrey for the winger’s 23rd try in 24 Tests.

Wales were unable to catch their breath and Jalibert broke through again to give supporting Pau centre Brau-Boirie a debut score.

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