Shaun Edwards was once the builder of the original red wall. But tomorrow he hopes it’s smashed to pieces, having handed the sledgehammer to Gael Fickou. It’s not the first time Edwards has put his faith in the French centre, as Graham Thomas reports. Shaun Edwards’ defensive general is determined to command a French resistance force which can deny Wales the Grand Slam in Paris on Saturday night. Gael Fickou was famously pinpointed by Edwards as the future of French rugby nine years ago.

Wayne Pivac believes his side’s “painful” autumn helped plants the seeds for what could blossom into a glorious Grand Slam Six Nations for Wales. Going into the final round of the tiurnament, Wales are four from four and a win against France in Paris on Saturday night will secure a fifth Six Nations Grand Slam since 2005. In particular, head coach Pivac has been delighted with the improved set piece.

Wayne Pivac believes Wales’ experience will prove the vital difference in their Six Nations finale against a strong France side in Paris. Wales will field the most experienced starting XV in their history with 987 international caps, with 14 of the starting line-up having won Grand Slams in the past. A sixth Six Nations crown and fifth Grand Slam will be secured if they beat solitary title rivals France on Saturday night and Pivac is confident his experienced players will come to the fore.

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.

Callum Sheedy has gone from boozy fan to the main man for Wales, even if Dan Biggar is still the landlord at No.10. If Wayne Pivac is true to recent form then Biggar will start at outside-half for the Grand Slam mission against France in Paris on Saturday and Sheedy will be responsible for locking up. That’s how it worked with the Triple Crown decider against England and there is little to suggest that Sheedy will not be called upon from the bench in Wales’ final match of the Six Nations.

Wales will be playing a major part in a ground-breaking weekend triple bill of international rugby league in England this June, as sides prepare for the Rugby League World Cup. To kick the weekend off, there will be an historic double-header featuring the England Men’s and Women’s teams at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium on Friday June 25.

Ken Owens has paid tribute to head coach Wayne Pivac ahead of Wales’ final push for the Guinness Six Nations title and a fifth Grand Slam. Wales stand on the verge of conquering European rugby once more, with Pivac’s team transformed from one that claimed just three Test match victories last year. If they beat France in Paris – something Wales have achieved on three of their last four Six Nations visits – then it would complete a startling recovery.

George North insists Wales can cope with the sharp end of the Six Nations this weekend and make sure it’s France who get a poke in the eye in Paris. The two countries clash in the final scheduled weekend of the tournament with another Grand Slam on the line for Wales, but with France still capable of going on to claim the title if they deny Wayne Pivac’s men. “We are at the pointy end of the stick now,” said North, who drew level with Shane Williams’ Wales record mark of 22 Six Nations touchdowns at the Stadio Olimpico in the 48-7 win over Italy.

Wayne Pivac has claimed Wales still have room for improvement and they will need to step up to those levels if they are to claim the Grand Slam against France in Paris next weekend. The unbeaten tournament leaders reeled off a third successive bonus-point victory to increase pressure on their rivals for silverware by crushing Italy 48-7 in Rome. Pivac’s team now head to the French capital knowing that a sixth Six Nations crown and fifth Grand Slam will be secured if they topple Les Bleus.

The Welsh Rugby Union is celebrating its 140th birthday this weekend (12 March, 2021) and the best possible gift the game could receive is a fourth win in a row for Alun Wyn Jones’ national team in Rome this weekend to stay on course for another Grand Slam. The ‘Welsh Football Union’ was born out of a meeting that took place at the Castle Hotel, in Neath, on Saturday, 12 March, 1881. There were 11 clubs in attendance – Swansea, Lampeter, Llandeilo, Cardiff, Newport, Llanelli, Merthyr, Llandovery, Brecon, Pontypool and Bangor – with home town team, Neath, generally now accepted as having been at the gathering as well.

Dan Biggar and Wales’ bid for victory in Italy on Saturday has been fuelled by his wife’s baked goods, but the fly-half insists Wayne Pivac’s side can still raise their game. Wales face the Azzurri in Rome with a Six Nations Triple Crown already in the bag. Ever the competitor, Biggar wants his team to go to the next level at the Stadio Olimpico.

In a parallel universe – with no pandemic – Harri Morgan would have been in Rome this weekend, making merry and making memories. Then, assuming a Welsh win, he would have mortgaged the house and made the trip to Paris to see Wales bid for a Grand Slam against France. It would have been the stuff of dreams, but reality has ordered he’ll instead be at home in front of the TV like everyone else. Kudos to the Six Nations fixture secretary for having the foresight to pair Wayne’s Wales with Fabien’s France as the headline act for Super Saturday.

The Scarlets are in Munster on Friday night, where one player will mark a special anniversary. It is a year since Aaron Shingler last played a game, but the clash at Thomond Park sees his return where Glenn Delaney’s side aim to clinch their European spot for next season, as Graham Thomas reports. Aaron Shingler has been described as a Scarlets legend as he prepares to finally return to action after a year of pain and uncertainty. The Wales forward was last seen on a rugby field in March of 2020 when he was on the losing side for Wales against England at Twickenham.

Two years ago, when Wales beat Ireland at the Principality Stadium to secure a Grand Slam title, a teenager was sat amongst fans dreaming of playing alongside his heroes. Fast forward to this year’s Guinness Six Nations tournament and Louis Rees-Zammit is the name amongst the headline acts after producing some exciting rugby whenever he gets the ball. It has been a meteoric rise for the 20-year-old – from club to country, impressing fans with his clinical finishing and lightening pace. Now, he has the chance to help many of the players he watched in 2019 move one step closer to another Slam.

Wales have not lost to Italy for 14 years but Jonathan Davies insists the perennial wooden spoon holders should not be under-estimated ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations game in Rome. The Italians are again bottom after three rounds of this season’s tournament, while Wales travel in the hope of setting up a Grand Slam clash with France the following week. The last time Wales played in the Stadio Olimpico, they were victors, 26-15, two years ago and you have to go back to 2007 for the last Italian victory in this fixture.

The last time Italy won a match in the Six Nations, Louis Rees-Zammit was 14 years old. For most Wales fans, Saturday’s fixture against the Italians is already just a footnote ahead of a Grand Slam decider against France next week. Tomas Marks looks at the problems and the prospects for Wales’ opponents.  Franco Smith’s journey to becoming Italy’s head coach has been a fascinating adventure. Smith is a nine-times capped Springbok, who played fly-half and scored for South Africa in their crushing 96-13 win against Wales in 1998.

As Wales move towards the possibility of conquering Europe on the field, it’s worth noting that this week represents a dozen years since the country planted its flag on top of the world. The year was 2009, the version was sevens, and the lack of recognition has been criminal, says Fraser Watson. It was a landmark moment in the history of Welsh rugby – or at least it should have been. In March 2009, the story of a nation’s only World Cup triumph unfolded in Dubai. From being 80-1 outsiders, a Wales sevens side coached by Paul John dramatically defeated Argentina in a tournament final few envisaged them even getting near.

For the men’s game, the Six Nations is coming to the boil with Wales two games away from another Grand Slam. For the women, however, it’s a case of sitting on the sidelines for the time being. It was a delay that provoked plenty of opposition, but Wales back row forward Manon Johnes reckons there will be benefits as she told Graham Thomas. If adaptability was the key to success during lockdown, then Wales forward Manon Johnes should have few problems when the women’s Six Nations starts in April. The men’s tournament may be in full swing but as the women’s game lacks a full-time professional structure there were too many problems to overcome during the pandemic and the shift in the calendar resulted.

Wayne Pivac insists he has no fears over Taulupe Faletau’s staying power after choosing not to rest the Wales No.8 in Italy this weekend. Faletau has featured in every Wales game so far in their unbeaten Six Nations campaign, as well as representing Bath in the two break weeks. But Wales coach Pivac – who has made only two changes to the team that beat England to clinch the Triple Crown a fortnight ago – says Faletau is “economical” with his exertions when he goes back to play for his club.

When Alisha Butchers went over on her ankle in training with Bristol Bears Women last Tuesday, there was no way she could have foreseen the trouble, stress, and financial worries ahead. The 23-year-old Wales international has been forced to raise funds online for the surgery required to fix her ankle after falling foul of a medical insurance loophole. Butchers – who reached her £4,995 GoFundMe target in just five hours on Friday – wants her fellow female players to ensure they do not end up in the same position and liable for thousands of pounds of medical bills due to circumstances outside of their control.