Wales' Grand Slam bid lights up Six Nations finale

Julian Guyer

17 March 2012 at 12:47 am

France's rugby union national team players run during a training session on March 16, at the Millenium stadium in Cardiff, on the eve of their rugby union Six Nations match against Wales. A capacity crowd of more than 74,500 is expected at the stadium as Wales bid for what would be a third Slam in eight seasons

Wales' scrum half Mike Phillips (C), pictured beside a scrum against England during their Six Nations rugby union match at Twickenham Stadium in southwest London, on February 25. Wales won the game 19-12 and play France next, at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, on Saturday

England's right wing Chris Ashton (R) runs through obstacles during a training session at the team's training base in Bagshot, south-east England, on March 15, ahead of their final Six Nations rugby union match against Ireland at Twickenham on March 17

Ireland's Cian Healy (L) tries to escape from the grip of Scotland's Richie Gray during their Six Nations rugby union match at the Aviva stadium in Dublin, on March 10. In their final matches on Saturday, Ireland play England in London while Scotland travel to Rome to face italy

Wales is set to come to a standstill on Saturday as the rugby mad nation waits to see if their team can win the coveted Six Nations Grand Slam by beating France in Cardiff. A capacity crowd of more than 74,500 is expected at the Millennium Stadium as Wales bid for what would be a third Slam in eight seasons. That is a record to compare with the celebrated Wales team of the 1970s, who completed three clean sweeps of their rivals in what was then the Five Nations. And the fact they are going up against France adds an extra element of drama. When the teams last met, France beat Wales 9-8 in a nailbiting World Cup semi-final in Auckland, a match where the Welsh had to play most of the game with 14 men after skipper Sam Warburton was sent off early on for a dangerous tackle on French wing Vincent Clerc. Warburton, who didn't feature in last week's win over Italy, has now been passed fit following a knee injury and the 23-year-old flanker is relishing his shot at making rugby history. "I can't wait for the game on the weekend, it's going to be the biggest game of my career," Warburton said. "People will be saying it's a revenge match but we have too many things to worry about other than a red card. The motivation for us will purely be to win the Grand Slam." This has been a frustrating tournament for France, who in their 17-17 draw with Ireland and last Sunday's 24-22 defeat by England in Paris only started to play their native, aggressive running game when well behind. New coach Philippe Saint-Andre may be a less volatile character than Marc Lievremont but he's inherited his predecessor's habit of making mass changes between Six Nations matches. For Saturday's match, the former wing has made five changes and one positional switch as France go in search of what would be their fifth successive win over Wales. In fairness to Saint-Andre, the unexpected handicap of having to play on four consecutive weekends, after the fiasco of a frozen Stade Francais pitch saw the Ireland match postponed, has clearly taken its toll. And fit-again France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili insisted motivation would not be a problem. "It always brews up a storm with the Welsh. It doesn't pose us any problems if they're seeking revenge: we're ready for a scrap." England, in what could be interim coach Stuart Lancaster's last match in charge, face Ireland at Twickenham still with a mathematical chance of deposing Wales, the only team to have beaten them this tournament, as champions. Wales's points difference advantage of plus 38 leaves them in pole position and means England must hope for a thumping French win over the Welsh and an equally convincing victory of their own over Ireland. After the embarrassment of the World Cup, England have regained a large measure of self-respect and many pundits now believe that in Lancaster, still uncertain of his post Six Nations fate, they have the right man to replace Martin Johnson on a permanent basis. "I've tended to focus all my energy this week on getting ready for the game really, so I've not put not much thought into the next steps or what the future may hold," the modest Lancaster said Thursday. For Ireland, who've have won seven of their last eight Championship matches against England, a failure to hold onto leads against both Wales and France has proved costly to their title hopes in a season they will finish without both the injured talismanic duo of Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell. "I think our decision-making is getting better all the time, when to move it, when to play position," said Ireland coach Declan Kidney after last week's crushing 32-14 win over Scotland. For Italy and Scotland, the depressing prospect of a wooden spoon decider looms in Rome. Italy were valiant in defence against Wales while the fact Scotland's best attacker against Ireland was lock Richie Gray tells its own story. Scotland's failure to make their tackles has been punished repeatedly and their six-game losing streak has led to speculation that, far from being sacked, coach Andy Robinson may resign. "Everybody's frustrated, everybody's disappointed about the losses and the manner of the losses, but also there is a confidence and an inner strength among the team," said former England flanker and coach Robinson. But Italy's French coach Jacques Brunel, didn't spare his team's feelings. "We're still too timid, we've got too much fear." Fixtures Saturday Rome: Italy v Scotland (1230GMT) Cardiff: Wales v France (1445GMT) London: England v Ireland (1700GMT)