Wales play France in Paris in the Six Nations; A win would see them win the title and a second Grand Slam in three years; Coach Jonathan Humphreys: “We are going to have to be at our very, very best to get what we want from the weekend.”
Wales forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys says they will face “one of the best teams in the world” when they target the Six Nations title and a Grand Slam against France.
They play the French on Saturday in Paris, where victory would give them a sixth Six Nations crown and fifth tournament clean sweep.
France had won all of their games before they were beaten 23-20 by England, which shattered their own hopes of a Grand Slam, but Humphreys has warned not to underestimate their opponents.
“What you find in all these games is they are won and lost on such fine margins, and that game was like that,” said Humphreys.
“I thought England were physical, as we expected them to be, but France are still incredibly dangerous.
“A couple of decisions, and you could argue they would have won that game. Nothing has changed in terms of our perception of France.
“They still have a hell of a lot to play for, and the DNA of the team does not change.
“We believe we are going up against one of the best teams in the world, and that we are going to have to be at our very, very best to get what we want from the weekend.
“There is excitement that we are obviously in the hunt for a big prize, but it is contained by the fact we have got a huge game in front of us and we need to be better than we were in all the games before this.”
Wales have matched their Six-Nations best for one season of 17 tries, while the Triple Crown is already tucked away in the trophy cabinet.
Just France now stand in the way of European rugby’s two biggest prizes, and with a fully fit squad available, Humphreys is confident that experience will help them over the line.
“There are 25 of this squad who have won big in this tournament,” he added.
“You are led by that, you are led by Al (Alun Wyn Jones), who sets the tone very, very well about this. There is nobody who has been through this more than he has.
“When you have a team meeting and one of those (senior players) stands up and says something, you listen, based on the fact that they have been there, done it and experienced all that stuff. That is worth its weight in gold.
“I think it is belief. It’s something you can’t coach – belief that you are capable of going out there and doing it.
“When people speak and young people hear, they immediately believe.”
