Six Nations Rugby: Wales seek to banish Irish nightmare

Wales v France

Blue skies greeted the teams at the open-topped Millennium Stadium as new coach Steve Hansen sought to banish the storm clouds hanging over Welsh rugby.

All eyes were on the former New Zealand police officer charged with lifting the ailing fortunes of rugby in the Principality in the wake of Wales’ 54-10 drubbing in Dublin and the subsequent departure of Graham Henry.

The Welsh Rugby Union struggled to fill the 72,500-capacity stadium following defeats in four of Henry’s last five matches but for Hansen’s team the only way is up.

France, who made an unconvincing start to the Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship with a patchy win over Italy a fortnight ago, were facing a test of their strength in depth.

Les Tricolores went into the game without no fewer than 10 players through injury and suspension, including first and second-choice skippers Fabien Galthie and Olivier Magne, and were led by recalled hooker Raphael Ibanez, who last captained his country in the 1999 World Cup final defeat by Australia at the same Millennium Stadium.

However, the only newcomer on view was Pau forward Imanol Harinordoquy, a dynamic flanker from the Basque region who collected his first cap four days before his 22nd birthday.