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.”

Warren Gatland has underlined Wales’ desperation to end their losing Six Nations run this season and claim what would be a statement victory over France.

Even though Les Bleus have produced nowhere near their standards of last year, highlighted by a comprehensive defeat against Ireland and home draw with Italy, they have claimed four successive Six Nations wins at Wales’ expense.

Despite several promising moments in defeats to Scotland, England and Ireland, new-look Wales are nil from three heading into Sunday’s Principality Stadium clash.

They have not lost all five games of a Six Nations campaign since 2003, with Italy – conquerors of Wales in Cardiff two years ago – arriving next weekend.

Wales’ recent overall Six Nations record is poor, having claimed just two victories from the last 14 starts, beating Scotland in 2022 and Italy last season.

“We need to win, and that is what Test match rugby is all about,” Wales head coach Gatland said.

“We desperately want to win. We feel we have been going OK and we want to try and put a complete performance together.

“We know we are on a journey, but we are trying to fast-track things as quickly as possible. A win on Sunday would be a good stepping stone for that.

“Whether they (France) come here to throw the ball around or play an off-loading game, or whether they go for being a bit more brutal upfront and play for territory, we have just got to make sure we are prepared for anything.

“We are desperate to get that win. We know we are not quite there and there is a lot of work to do, but we have put ourselves in games and put teams under pressure.

“They (France) have got a huge pack, but that is the challenge for us, it is about moving their pack around. We saw what happened to them against Italy, that they do tire and that creates opportunities.”

Wales were edged out by a point against Scotland, then two points at England’s hands, and captain Dafydd Jenkins added: “Obviously, we are extremely disappointed to lose games, especially with the tight ones.

“But in terms of staying composed, I think we have built game on game and I feel like we’ve got better.

“We are looking at the quality in the room we have, and we should be winning games, so that is really what we are striving for.”

Gatland’s main selection talking point has been a new centre combination of Joe Roberts, who makes his first Six Nations start, and Owen Watkin.

George North, Wales’ most experienced Six Nations squad member with 120 caps, and Saracens’ Nick Tompkins were the midfield pairing during the World Cup and in two Six Nations games this term.

Gatland said: “We just wanted to give Joe an opportunity. He is a left-foot (kicking) option as well, and he has been training well.

“I thought they (North and Tompkins) were outstanding during the World Cup. Again, it is a chance for us to look at a few other players.

“George and I have had some honest discussions about whether he gets through to the next World Cup (in 2027). He started at a very young age, I think at 18 he was playing for Wales.

“Part of our discussions were about how we manage him, how do we look after him going forward?

“We’ve just got to make sure we have got some depth in that 13 position. That is why Joe gets an opportunity.

“I must say how the two boys (North and Tompkins) have responded after the disappointment of being left out this week. They has been fantastic in the way they have trained and helped the team.”

Wales’ young team may have shown genuine promise for the future two rounds into the Guinness Six Nations but captain Dafydd Jenkins insists there is no sugar coating the results.

England ran out 16-14 winners at Twickenham on Saturday despite trailing 14-5 at half-time after a penalty try and Alex Mann’s touch down had placed Warren Gatland’s team in the driving seat.

The defeat came a week after Wales amassed 26 unanswered points having fallen 27-0 behind Scotland, which left Cardiff wondering how had they allowed one of the Championship’s great collapses.

A clash with champions Ireland in Dublin on February 24 is their next assignment and, while Jenkins is impressed by his side’s fighting spirit, he knows that ultimately they have come up short.

“It’s extremely disappointing, but I’m proud of the boys for sticking in it every time. But it’s international rugby and it’s all about winning. Two losses hurts a lot,” Jenkins said.

“It’s a special game, Wales against England. As you grow up you always want to be a part of it and get the win. Unfortunately we didn’t do that.”

Wales’ great frustration is that, having put themselves in a position to claim their first victory at Twickenham since 2015, they allowed the hosts to take control of the second-half through their kicking game.

Gatland believes a challenge lies in instilling into his overhauled side the belief they can get over the line even if the same players are rarely successful with their regions in the United Rugby Championship and Europe.

“Our focus is getting better from game to game and I think we’ve done that,” Gatland said.

“The boys are desperate to get a win and probably the challenge for us is just knowing how important winning is.

“A number of players are coming from regional teams that haven’t had a lot of success.

“They’ve probably got used to not having that ‘W’ next to their name after performances. So it’s important we start doing that and be positive about doing that.

“One of the great things about playing for Wales is, having spoken to a number of players, when they come into this environment, they come in with confidence believing they’re good enough to win. We’ve just got to keep building on that.”

England number eight Ben Earl was the official man of the match but that accolade could easily have gone to Wales openside Tommy Reffell, whose expertise on the ground is now being matched by growing influence in attack.

“We know how good Tommy is defensively but we want him to be comfortable getting the ball in his hands a little bit more,” Gatland said.

“He has come on as more of an option as a running threat. We saw that last weekend and again against England.

“I’m absolutely delighted for him because he’s starting to get a nice balance to his game and that can take him to the next level.

“He was outstanding against England and he just keeps going for 80 minutes.”

Dafydd Jenkins has admitted he was left shaking after the phone call from Warren Gatland that elevated him to lofty heights as Wales’ youngest captain for 56 years.

The 21-year-old Exeter lock is set to lead his country against opening Guinness Six Nations opponents Scotland on Saturday week.

Not since a 20-year-old Gareth Edwards skippered Wales for the first time – also against Scotland in Cardiff – during the 1968 Five Nations, has there been such a youthful captain.

Jenkins, though, already has plenty of experience having first captained Exeter at 19 and this season steered them into Gallagher Premiership title contention and the Investec Champions Cup knockout phase.

Recalling the moment that he described as “a dream come true”, Jenkins said: “I was in Exeter, at the club and I had a call from a number I didn’t have (in his phone), and Gats obviously said who it was.

“So you’re just going along with it, really. I was not too sure it was actually him or one of the boys playing a prank.

“So I spoke to him and I was pretty convinced it was him, coming off the call.

“After I put the phone down a few of the boys around me were asking me who it was. I was shaking afterwards. It was class.

“I had it (Gatland’s number) on WhatsApp and we have a few other Welsh boys at Exeter like Joe Hawkins, so I compared the number with him.”

Recent Wales captains Jac Morgan, Dewi Lake and Ken Owens were soon in touch to offer congratulations, along with former Wales and British and Irish Lions skipper Sam Warburton.

Jenkins’ father Hywel was an outstanding back-row forward who gained Wales A recognition at representative level, while his grandfather played in the same Wales schoolboys side as Edwards.

“My mum’s dad played in the same team as Gareth Edwards – Welsh schoolboys – and went on to play for Aberavon. My father played for Llanelli,” he added.

“I like trying to lead by example on the field and around the training pitch. Obviously, the nines and 10s are great talkers and there are other leaders within the team, so I just try to do my bit on the pitch and hopefully people follow.

“I think you try and lead with your actions. There is no point telling other people what to do when you are not doing it yourself.”

Jenkins has just 12 caps to his name and he features in a highly-competitive second-row area with the likes of Will Rowlands and Adam Beard.

But Gatland has seen the same qualities in him as Exeter rugby director Rob Baxter, handing him the top playing job in Welsh rugby job barely a month after his 21st birthday.

He will take a charge of an inexperienced squad – almost half the 34-strong group have cap totals in single figures – while Wales’ Six Nations prospects have been dismissed by many, especially given the absence of players like Morgan, Lake, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar, Liam Williams and Louis Rees-Zammit.

“I think a lot of people have written us off already, which is a dangerous thing to do with us,” Jenkins said.

“Obviously, with the young squad, they wouldn’t be in there if they weren’t talented enough and if Gats didn’t think they could do a job.

“I think a lot of people are underestimating what this team can do. They have in the past, and as a country we have proven people wrong time and time again.”

Wales, meanwhile, have eased any fears surrounding centre George North, who suffered a shoulder injury during Ospreys’ European Challenge Cup victory over the Lions in Johannesburg on Sunday.

Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins said: “George is going to be alright. He might do a little bit this afternoon, but hopefully he will be able to train (on) Friday.”

Exeter forward Dafydd Jenkins will achieve another milestone moment when he makes his first Rugby World Cup start in Saturday’s clash against Portugal.

The 20-year-old lock has made rapid strides during an international career that only began last season with a Test debut against autumn opponents Georgia.

Having already captained the Chiefs in a Gallagher Premiership game, Jenkins quickly became an important part of Wales squads under head coach Warren Gatland.

And he was in the thick of it during his 22 minutes off the bench in Wales’ gripping 32-26 victory over opening Pool C opponents Fiji last weekend.

It proved a huge defensive rearguard from Gatland’s team as Fiji pushed for an unlikely win from 18 points adrift.

“It is a privilege to be with the group,” Jenkins said.

“I just want to try and leave the 20-year-old younger version of myself behind and push on forward, be a more experienced player at this level and competing hard.”

Jenkins’ father Hywel, a back-row forward for Swansea and Neath, went close to full international honours, representing Wales A and then Wales in an uncapped game against the United States.

And Jenkins’ rugby apprenticeship continued at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, a renowned academy for the sport with an impressive list of past students that also includes Louis Rees-Zammit, Ellis Genge and Jonny May.

Exeter boss Rob Baxter contacted Jenkins during his time at Hartpury, and a move to Sandy Park followed in 2021, where he quickly broke into Chiefs’ Champions Cup and Premiership teams.

At 6ft 7in and around 18 stone, he has made his presence felt, but he is also performing an important off-field role during his first World Cup.

As Wales’ youngest squad member, he is entrusted with carrying a giant carved lovespoon – a traditional Welsh symbol of love and affection – at major events during the tournament.

Prop Rhys Carre performed those duties four years ago in Japan, and former Dragons centre Tyler Morgan at the 2015 World Cup in England.

“I haven’t lost it yet which is good,” Jenkins added. “A few boys are definitely eyeing it up, so I have to keep it away from them.

“It was really special (in Bordeaux for the Fiji game). The crowd was amazing, a different experience to what I have had before.

“We saw videos before the game from Bordeaux of Welsh fans singing in the town. It was more the atmosphere that was a bit different.”