Wales’s Dan Biggar braced for stern Six Nations test from ‘real deal’ France

If nothing else, this one will make for some stunning photographs. The deep blue of France against the bright scarlet of Wales, the Friday night lights of Cardiff offering a richness to the images.

That is about as much optimism as can be confidently projected from a Welsh point of view as a French side set on a grand slam meet a squad seemingly held together by chewing gum and gumption.

“They’re the real deal,” said the Wales captain and fly-half, Dan Biggar, on the eve of the match. “We realise that this French team is different to the previous French teams that we’ve played over the years. The size of the pack, the in-form players that they’ve got, the coaching setup and who they’ve brought in.”

Much of the attention has rightly focused on Antoine Dupont, World Rugby’s reigning player of the year and the fulcrum at No 9 between a blistering backline and a set of forwards that might be the most dominant in the game at present. “It’s pretty obvious he’s the best player in the world,” Biggar said of Dupont. “He has a huge influence on any game he plays. His partnership with [Romain] Ntamack has flourished over the past 18 months. They’re in seriously good form.”

This will be the half-back pairing’s 12th Six Nations game together. According to the statistician Russ Petty they are only three away from Morgan Parra and François Trinh-Duc. But at 25 and 22 respectively, Dupont and Ntamack are on the brink of what could be a dynastic union.

That they are mostly playing front-foot ball has several explanations. For a side famed for their expansive running and offload game, France kick a lot. They have made almost 800 more metres from the boot than any other team in the competition and therefore rarely play in their own half.