Pivac hails Welsh improvement after narrow loss to France

CARDIFF : Frustrated Wales coach Wayne Pivac believes his side did enough to win in their narrow 13-9 Six Nations defeat by France on Friday as he confirmed lock Alun Wyn Jones will be fit to face Italy in their final fixture next weekend.

Wales dominated possession and territory against unbeaten France but despite a number of entries into their opponents' 22, could not find a way to breach their defence.

But although it was an improved performance from the home side, it was still a third loss in four games for the defending champions.

"(The game-plan) very nearly worked," Pivac told reporters. "It is a frustrating one as the boys put in a lot of work. We felt we did enough to win the game but it wasn’t to be. That being said, it is massive step in right direction."

France scored the lone try early on through flanker Anthony Jelonch, while Wales' best chance came when centre Jonathan Davies juggled the ball with the French tryline in sight, but could not keep it under control.

"It was a very tight test and it came down to one score. They had one chance and took it, and we couldn't quite finish off," Pivac said.

"We worked hard and it wasn't down to lack of effort. It is one of those frustrating ones. The boys did everything we wanted to do other than win the game.

"But we had some positive play against the form team in the world. Across the board, we put them under pressure. We did a lot of good things with the ball, but it comes down to one or two things."

Wales will close their Six Nations at home to Italy on March 19 and will have regular skipper Jones back in contention for selection.

He had initially been ruled out of the entire competition with a recurrence of a shoulder problem, the same injury he sustained before the