Warren Gatland believes that Antoine Dupont’s absence from the Guinness Six Nations has proved “a massive loss” for France.
Les Bleus’ mercurial World Cup captain has joined the sevens circuit ahead of the Paris Olympics later this year.
And France have struggled without him, being beaten comprehensively by Six Nations title favourites Ireland and then drawing at home against Italy, either side of narrowly defeating Scotland.
They tackle Wales at the Principality Stadium on Sunday, when Gatland’s team will target a first Six Nations victory over them since 2019.
“It just shows when you are with a team – and we have been lucky enough with this in the past and it is the challenge going forward – that having two or three X-factor players in your team can make a massive difference,” Wales head coach Gatland said.
“Sometimes you get two relatively even teams, but it is the individual brilliance of someone who can change a game.
“There is no doubt for me that Dupont is a massive loss for them. He is probably the best player in the world.
“We have already seen what he has done with the French sevens team. They won the sevens tournament (in Los Angeles).
“(Romain) Ntamack is a big loss for them in terms of that nine-10 partnership. It is difficult to put your finger on it.
“They have made some changes. They have probably thought they don’t feel like they can win the Six Nations, so there is a chance to give players in their squad an opportunity.”
Whether Wales can take advantage of France’s current position remains to be seen.
Gatland’s team have yet to win in this season’s tournament, raising the potential scenario of a wooden-spoon decider against Italy next weekend if they do not triumph on Sunday.
It is 21 years since Wales last finished bottom of the Six Nations table, although they were fifth in three of the past four seasons.
Considerable interest will surround the appearance of a new centre pairing, with Six Nations debutant Joe Roberts partnering Owen Watkin after Gatland left out George North and Nick Tompkins.
And captain Dafydd Jenkins has been moved from lock to blindside flanker as Will Rowlands and Adam Beard team up in the second-row.
Gatland added: “We’ve spoken to the two boys (Roberts and Watkin) about their roles. They have got a chance to make a statement.
“The big thing for them – what I am looking for – is not about them playing, but them being vocal, making sure they communicate to the 10s and take that communication from the outside.
“That is a massive thing for us in terms of work-on, but also them realising how vocal they need to be in attack and defence.
“We had spoken early in the tournament about giving Daf that chance (at blindside). He was pretty excited when we did talk about it in one of the earlier games.
“When we said we were playing him at second-row, he joked we didn’t have the guts to put him in the back-row!
“It is a good chance as a young player to get that opportunity in a different position.
“We know what a big pack France will put out and particularly that first 20 or 30 minutes. They were really direct against Italy in that time and could have been three tries up.
“We have got to expect a real physical challenge, particularly in the early exchanges of the game.”
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
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