Clockwatch: Wales 22-29 France

All the action as France fend off a late Welsh onslaught for victory at the Millennium Stadium.

Match photos

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80 mins: Wales win three back-to-back penalties and run them all. They continually charge at the French and edge closer and closer to the try line. But Traille finally kicks clear from his own line and the referee blows for full-time. A thrilling end to the match.

79 mins: Martyn Williams touches down for Wales but surely it's too late. Peel takes a tap penalty and as Stephen Jones pops it inside, Williams is on hand to glide through. Jones adds the conversion.
Wales 22-29 France

77 mins: Things are starting to fizzle out now. The Millennium Stadium has gone quiet as a French win now becomes a formality.

74 mins: The game is beginning to take its toll as Elissalde limps off with a hamstring injury. In the meantime, some tired Welsh legs keep on running, but still to no avail.

73 mins: Wales desperately try to launch attacks but to no avail as they struggle to make it over the gain line. Their chances are rapidly running out.

71 mins: Elissalde kicks three more points as the Welsh scrum illegally sheds players.
Wales 15-29 France

67 mins: The game is hotting up by the minute as Rhys Williams hacks the ball upfield. Dominici just about manages to knock it into touch. As the Welsh break again, though, they are penalised for crossing.

65 mins: Wales mess up an excellent chance as Elissalde steals it in the scrum. From a scoring opportunity they suddenly find themselves facing a French line-out on their own 22. A shocking waste.

63 mins: Dominici is knocked into touch on his own line after a Gareth Thomas kick. Wales win a penalty after the French wing fails to release it. They opt for the scrum as Gareth Llewellyn takes Brent Cockbain's place.

60 mins: Dafydd Jones, Iestyn Thomas and Mark Taylor come off. On come Martyn Williams, Ben Evans and Tom Shanklin.

57 mins: Elissalde has scored for France. From a lost Welsh scrum he is sent down the touchline by Betsen and evades Gareth Thomas to slide in. Television replays suggested Betsen's pass was forward, but the try stands and Elissalde converts his own score.
Wales 15-26 France

54 mins: Jones finds the target with his sixth attempt of the afternoon after practically the entire French backline are caught offside.
Wales 15-19 France

52 mins: Jauzion produces a great smother tackle on Gareth Thomas and steals the ball. But the French centre is penalised for illegally ripping the ball off Thomas. But Jones misses the resulting penalty.

50 mins: After a turnover, a charging Jauzion is tap tackled by Charvis, who is omnipresent for the Welsh. Dwayne Peel comes on for the injured Gareth Cooper.

48 mins: Wales concede three more points from Elissalde's boot after a great Michalak break.
Wales 12-19 France

46 mins: Charvis makes visit number three to the blood bin. Meanwhile, Dafydd Jones gives a penalty away for holding onto the ball and Elissalde slots it over.
Wales 12-16 France

43 mins: Wales breathe a massive sigh of relief as France look certain to score, only for Dominici to be delightfully felled by Stephen Jones.

42 mins: Shane Williams kicks his heels and off he goes, to the delight of the Cardiff crowd.

41 mins: It all begins again at the Millennium Stadium as Stephen Jones kicks off.

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39 mins: France give themselves a good platform with an attacking line-out. From the resulting maul, Michalak dances his way around the base of the pack before sending Harinordoquy into the right-hand corner. Elissalde puts France ahead with the conversion as the whistle goes for half-time.
Wales 12-13 France

36 mins: The French are beginning to find their feet. This time Betsen picks his way through the Welsh backs. Wales are caught offside but Elissalde fails to cut the deficit in a sea of boos. A poor kick.

33 mins: Wales are continually turning over French ball and doing more with it than their Gallic counterparts when they have it.

30 mins: Dafydd Jones holds the ball for too long on the ground, to the chagrin of the referee. France get a penalty and run it. But some dire passing brings their chance crashing to the ground.

29 mins: Charvis scoots off the field with a fresh flow of blood trickling off his face. In his absence, Yannick Jauzion sprints through a monstrous hole in the Welsh defence. Somehow Wales win the ball in the resulting maul much to the delight of the home crowd.

27 mins: France kill the ball once more in a dangerous position. Their lack of discipline allows Stephen Jones to kick three more points. A great passage of play from Wales.
Wales 12-6 France

25 mins: The ball literally dances through the hands of the Welsh backs. Shane Williams takes the final pass and chips ahead. All Nicolas Brusque can do is hoof the ball into touch.

23 mins: Wales get phase after phase of possession in a bulldozing move but the French defence just holds firm, albeit while conceding a penalty - Sylvain Marconnet the guilty party. Stephen Jones kicks a third penalty.
Wales 9-6 France

20 mins: Hooker William Servat is the surprise architect of the game's first break from the line-out. His initial tacklers bounce off him before he is felled some 20 yards later. Charvis is also back on.

18 mins: France collapse the scrum and give away a penalty of their own. Jones steps up to go for goal and produces another stunning kick.
Wales 6-6 France

16 mins: Jonathan Thomas fails to release the man on the ground and concedes another kickable penalty. Elissalde makes Wales pay for the infringement.
Wales 3-6 France

14 mins: Shane Williams makes one of his trademark little runs but meets the full force of France's pack on the way. Colin Charvis comes off temporarily with a bloody nose.

12 mins: Thomas Liveremont finds himself clear heading to the line but is called back by referee Stuart Dickinson for an Imanol Harinordoquy offside. Stephen Jones has a go at the penalty from the halfway line and over it sails.
Wales 3-3 France

11 mins: Stephen Jones has his 22 drop-out charged down by Betsen, leaving the Welsh immediately under pressure. The pressure subsides when Michalak knocks on.

9 mins: France's backs are fluently popping the ball to each other and their moves catch Jonathan Thomas offside. Damien Traille opts for the spot kick from 55 yards out but makes a right hash of it.

6 mins: The menacing French forwards keep plugging away at the Welsh defence and win a very kickable penalty. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde does the honours.
Wales 0-3 France

4 mins: France come within a whisker of the game's first try. Christophe Dominici, whose howler a fortnight ago against Italy, almost cost him his place, was running onto the final pass only for Rhys Williams to intercede. The French get an attacking line-out for their efforts.

2 mins: Wales win the first tussle of the forwards in open play. But they lose possession as the ubiquitous Serge Betsen pounces on the ball.

1502 GMT: The match gets going as Frederic Michalak kicks off to the Welsh forwards. Jonathan Thomas knocks on immediately after colliding with returning captain Colin Charvis.

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Wales: Thomas (Warriors), Williams (Blues), Taylor (Scarlets), Harris (Blues), Williams (Ospreys), Jones (Scarlets), Cooper (Warriors), Thomas (Scarlets), Davies (Warriors), Jenkins (Warriors), Cockbain (Warriors), Owen (Dragons), Thomas (Ospreys), Charvis (Tarbes, capt), Jones (Scarlets).

Replacements: Bennett (Ospreys), Evans (Blues), Llewellyn (Ospreys), Williams (Blues), Peel (Scarlets), Sweeney (Warriors), Shanklin (Blues).

France: Brusque (Biarritz), Clerc (Stade Toulousain), Traille (Pau), Jauzion (Stade Toulousain), Dominici (Stade Francais), Michalak (Stade Toulousain), Elissalde (Stade Toulousain); Marconnet (Stade Francais), Servat (Stade Toulousain), Villiers (Stade Francais), Pelous (Stade Toulousain, capt), Pape (Bourgoin), Betsen (Biarritz), Harinordoquy (Pau), Lievremont (Biarritz).

Replacements: Bru (Stade Toulousain), Crenca (Agen), Auradou (Stade Francais), Magne (Montferrand), Yachvili (Biarritz), Rougerie (Montferrand), Heymans (Stade Toulousain).

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia).