It is half a century since Wales last won a Grand Slam on a foreign field. It was a day they overcame a France team that contained Pierre Villepreux. His influence will need overcoming again on Saturday, if Wales are to repeat their triumph in Paris, says Tomas Marks.
For any player, to beat the opposition on their own turf has that added satisfaction.
While Welsh supporters have been able to celebrate a number of Grand Slams in recent years, each of those final Six Nations games has been in Cardiff.
As Wales prepare for what would be a fifth Grand Slam since 2005 – if they win their final match of the tournament on Saturday night in Paris – we must return 50 years to when they last won a slam with an away win.
Looking back with red-tinted glasses, Gareth Edwards, Barry John and JPR Williams were the stars on French soil.
It was an impressive achievement, given that facing them in blue was the first genuine counter-attacking full-back in world rugby, Pierre Villepreux, who had a profound influence on that French side and many that have followed.
If Wales want to repeat the outcome of that 1971 match, they will need to defeat a French team that has the Villepreux philosophy running through its veins.
Villepreux – now 77 – is probably up there with Carwyn James as the most free-thinking coach of his generation.
After a playing career that brought 34 caps during an era when international teams might only play five or six games a year, Villepreux coached France and won the 1997 and 1998 Six Nations with Grand Slams.
His French team also reached a World Cup final in 1999, having beaten New Zealand along the way, 43-31, in one of the greatest Test matches of all time, only to under-perform in the final and lose 35-12 to Australia.
But the Villepreux thread and what it signifies continued. He coached current French head coach Fabien Galthie, and his influence can be seen in the attacking styles of both Toulouse and France in 2021.
Villepreux has influenced Galthie, like Johan Cruyff moulded the thinking of Pep Guardiola at Barcelona. Like Cruyff’s vision of “total football”. Villepreux’s doctrine has always been about an overall philosophy where every player contributes to a coherent whole – a pursuit, perhaps, of total rugby.
Villepreux preached “adaptability and flexibility” and the threat for the Welsh team in this year’s showdown is the spontaneity and fluidity of the current French attack.
The French possess an “A list” backline with Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack, Gael Fickou, Virimi Vakatawa, Matthieu Jalibert, Teddy Thomas and Damian Penaud.
Dupont is considered to be the best No.9 in the world with even the likes of All Black Aaron Smith stating he is leading the scrum half stakes.
England’s Ben Youngs didn’t dissent from that view before he came up against Dupont last week at Twickenham and it’s unlikely any of the Welsh scrum-halves would, either, if pinned against a wall.
Dupont is considered the best as he has amazing anticipation and runs deadly support lines.
He has great awareness of defenders either side of the ruck and he can go around them before they have even sensed the danger, before his passing and handling skills create some magic for others in his team.
In essence, his imagination, flair, and commitment to attack the opposition and find space is everything Villepreux has stood for and insisted upon. The thread remains unbroken.
Game not over. Back to work ⚒️ #XVdeFrance #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/5tkmyqIhEQ
— Antoine Dupont (@Dupont9A) March 14, 2021
Every champion team has game breakers that can produce magic from thin air, and France have a star in Dupont.
Saturday’s game will be the biggest for Wales since the World Cup semi-final defeat to South Africa 18 months ago and they will have learned from that painful loss.
On that day, the Springboks were fully prepared for Alun Wyn Jones’ influence on referees, Gareth Davies’ quick taps and intercepts, Wales’ territorial pressure kicking game, and likely plays on advantage attack.
Shaun Edwards – lately of this parish, but now marshalling France’s defence – will have prepared his team to the same precision. The question is, are Wales prepared for the French attacking onslaught after their English disappointment?
One thing that the French will not allow this week is self-pity. Dupont is inspired by tennis player Raphael Nadal and his positive mindset through adversity.
Nadal is the king of the French clay but can Dupont reign on Saturday night at the Stade de France? He will if Wales cannot stop him.
First Minister for Wales, Mark Drakeford has recently let us back on the golf course. Wales need to embrace this freedom and “let that club swing” to fully attack the French team.
If Wales have this mindset – blending attacking intent with defensive discipline as they did against Italy and England – then they can claim the championship and make captain Alun Wyn Jones the first four-time Grand Slam winner.
Twitter: @TomasMarks8
