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PARIS - Holders France stayed on course for a Six Nations rugby grand slam by recovering from a sluggish start to beat Wales 32-21 at Stade de France in Paris today.
Tries by winger Christophe Dominici and lock Lionel Nallet, 19 points from the boot of near-faultless first five-eighth David Skrela and three by substitute No 10 Lionel Beauxis gave France their third win from as many matches after away victories over Italy and Ireland.
Wales, who failed to redeem themselves after defeats by Ireland and Scotland, had a furious start with tries in quick succession by flanker Alix Popham and centre Tom Shanklin, their first of the tournament and both converted by first five-eighth Stephen Jones but could not maintain the pressure.
England's 43-13 defeat by Ireland at Croke Park earlier today means France, who will host the World Cup later this year, are the only side still in contention for a grand slam.
"Our goal is to win the tournament," said France coach Bernard Laporte.
"We're not there yet but it's looking good.
"We were nervous at first but we did not panic and found the strength to recover, which shows that there is quality in this side."
The visitors, who had won three of their last four games in Paris, led 14-3 after 15 minutes but then collapsed and had to wait until the final minutes for a third try by substitute centre Jamie Robinson, which Jones converted.
"We've made a big improvement," said Wales coach Gareth Jenkins, who was heavily criticised after a poor showing against Scotland.
"We scored three tries against probably the strongest side in the championship."
France needed time to get going and showed little until Skrela put them ahead with a penalty after 10 minutes.
Wales immediately resumed their march forward and scored two tries within three minutes, Popham touching down following a lineout and Shanklin then diving in between the posts to set them dreaming of another upset.
France, however, slowly found their momentum, Skrela reducing the arrears from another penalty before Dominici perforated the Welsh defence for France's first try, which Skrela converted.
A collective effort by the French pack then ended with Nallet scoring his first international try. Skrela converted it before adding a penalty to build a 23-14 halftime lead.
Two more Skrela penalties had increased the gap to 29-14 with France in complete control before Robinson's swift counter-attack for Wales' third try.
The issue was beyond doubt by then and France knew they had secured a morale-boosting win two weeks ahead of a clash with England at Twickenham when Beauxis completed the scoreline with a late penalty.
"We had a great start but France then put us under a lot of pressure and made us work very hard defensively," said Wales captain Jones.
"We suffered but we were competitive against a really good side and that's encouraging," he added.
- REUTERS
