Six Nations: Expect the unexpected, Henry tells Welsh

Wales coach Graham Henry has warned his players ‘‘to be prepared for anything’’ when they take on Six Nations rivals France in Paris tomorrow.

Wales, crushed by England six weeks ago and then held to a draw in Scotland last time out, have once again crossed the Channel as underdogs.

They can draw inspiration from a stunning 34-33 success at Stade de France two years ago a first Welsh win in the French capital since 1975.

But master tactician Henry admits he does not have a clue exactly what an erratic French team will produce this weekend.

They struggled past the Scots, lost in Ireland and made hard work of seeing off wooden spoon favourites Italy but should Wales expect more of the same or some overdue brilliance?

‘‘France have not played as well as they would have liked but they are capable of defeating anybody,’’ said Henry.

‘‘They showed exactly that when they beat the All Blacks in Marseilles last November, having lost to them a week earlier.

‘‘You never know which France is going to turn up on the day, and we have to be prepared for anything.

‘‘When France play with freedom they are as good as any side in the world. On their day they have the ability to take apart any team.

‘‘You just hope that they will stay in the cage this weekend and don’t come out firing.’’

While the pressure is on French coach Bernard Laporte to orchestrate a considerable improvement, Henry himself can hardly claim to be in clover.

After beating France on their last Paris excursion, Wales embarked on a lengthy unbeaten run when a list of impressive scalps included both England and South Africa.

How Henry, whose recent record shows just five wins from the last 12 Tests, would like Paris 2001 to spark a repeat sequence.

‘‘We are going into this game in a positive frame of mind,’’ he claimed.

‘‘But we haven’t won twice in a row in Paris since the 1950s, so let’s not get away from the magnitude of the task awaiting us.

‘‘There is pressure every Test match it is the nature of the job but last time we played France in Paris we’d been beaten by both Scotland and Ireland beforehand.’’

But having blown a golden opportunity in Edinburgh ending with a draw from an encounter they should have won comfortably the reality is that Wales desperately need a victory.

Otherwise, they could find themselves travelling to Italy next month foot and mouth permitting for a potential wooden spoon loser-takes-nothing fixture.

Doubts are increasing that their delayed Cardiff appointment with Ireland currently arranged for April 29 will not take place due to the continuing foot-and-mouth crisis.

Even if it does, Wales have done little so far to suggest they are anything better than mid-table Six Nations material.

Henry’s ‘‘be bold’’ message of two years ago remains relevant this time around, but Wales will oppose a French team equally hell-bent on kick-starting their championship campaign.

‘‘We are still in the race for this tournament,’’ insisted Laporte.

‘‘We have played three games and won twice, and that is not too bad even if some of our rugby has not been too attractive.

‘‘Our defence against Italy was strong, and we could have killed the match earlier had it not been for missed penalties. Overall, I was quite satisfied.’’

Those missed kicks have cost Christophe Lamaison his place tomorrow Montferrand’s Gerald Merceron takes his place but Laporte has resisted any temptation to make further changes.

Wales need big performances from their key men the likes of Neil Jenkins, Rob Howley, Scott Gibbs, Scott Quinnell and Colin Charvis to have any chance of finishing on top.

If they can sustain a performance for 80 minutes rather than the 60 against Scotland then first back-to-back triumphs since 1957 can be secured.

But France are equally determined, and the game could well develop into a battle of nerves and wit.

Whoever survives the intense pressure best should prevail. But either way, it promises to be a ferociously fought match with probably nothing more than one score between the sides.

Teams for tomorrow’s Six Nations match between France and Wales at the Stade de France (kick-off 2pm GMT)

France

J L Sadourny (Colomiers); P Bernat-Salles (Biarritz), S Bonetti (Biarritz), T Lombard (Stade Francais), C Dominici (Stade Francais); G Merceron (Montferrand), F Galthie (Colomiers); C Califano (Toulouse), R Ibanez (Castres), P de Villiers (Stade Francais), D Auradou (Stade Francais), F Pelous (Toulouse, capt), C Moni (Stade Francais), O Magne (Montferrand), C Juillet (Stade Francais).

Replacements: F Landreau (Stade Francais), S Marconnet (Stade Francais), L Nallet (Bourgoin), S Betsen (Biarritz), P Carbonneau (Pau), C Lamaison (Agen), P Elhorga (Agen).

Wales

R Williams (Cardiff); G Thomas (Cardiff), M Taylor (Swansea), S Gibbs (Swansea), D James (Llanelli); N Jenkins (Cardiff), R Howley (Cardiff); D Morris (Swansea), R McBryde (Llanelli), D Young (Cardiff, capt), I Gough (Newport), A Moore (Swansea), C Charvis (Swansea), M Williams (Cardiff), S Quinnell (Llanelli).

Replacements: A Lewis (Cardiff), C Anthony (Swansea), C Quinnell (Cardiff), G Lewis (Pontypridd), G Cooper (Bath), S Jones (Llanelli), A Bateman (Northampton).

Referee: David McHugh (Irl).

Touch judges: Alan Lewis (Irl), Rob Dickson (Sco).