Wales travel to France in search of Six Nations glory

Wales enter the final round of fixtures in the 2011 Six Nations with an outside chance of claiming a third title in seven years.

But they must first rely on championship leaders England slipping to defeat in Ireland, who will be looking to bounce back after last Saturday’s controversial defeat in the Millennium Stadium.

If the Red Rose nation do miss out on a Grand Slam, Wales know a substantial victory over a France team in turmoil could be enough to secure the crown.

Warren Gatland has recalled fit-again George North on the wing, in place of record try-scorer Shane Williams, who has been ruled out for between six and eight weeks with a knee injury sustained in the 19-13 victory against Ireland.

Williams is set to retire from international rugby after the World Cup and is the third top try-scorer in the history of the northern hemisphere’s leading international competition with 22 scores.

But he will miss out on a tournament swansong in Paris and is replaced by Llanelli Scarlets flyer North.

The 18-year-old sensation, dubbed the “Welsh Lomu” in some quarters, made a huge impression in the autumn when he scored two tries against world champions South Africa.

He is preferred to Morgan Stoddart who remains on the bench.

The only other change to the starting line-up sees British and Irish Lion Adam Jones return in the front row after completing his recovery from an elbow injury.

He replaces his injured Ospreys team-mate Craig Mitchell who misses out with a shoulder problem.

One of the major features of the game with Ireland was the re-emergence of second row Alun Wyn Jones, who displayed the form which saw him capped by the Lions in 2009.

And Wales will undoubtedly aim to dominate against the French engine room, where Julien Pierre and Lionel Nallet have been accused of being one-dimensional.

Dan Lydiate, Sam Warburton and Ryan Jones, who have grown impressively as a back row triumvirate during the course of the tournament, will face another stern test of their credentials.

In the backs, the beneficiary of last Saturday’s “try”, scrum-half Mike Phillips, will look to follow up his excellent display against one of Europe’s leading number 9’s, Morgan Parra.

James Hook retains the number 10 jersey after a commanding man-of-the-match last Saturday.

The way he controlled the game in the frenzied atmosphere against Ireland bodes well for the visit to the Stade de France and suggests he is ready for a run of games at fly-half ahead of Stephen Jones.

Centres Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts retain their places after an effective outing against Ireland but will be looking to register a first try of what has been a barren campaign in terms of personal glory.

And likewise the back three of North, Leigh Halfpenny and Lee Byrne will aim to provide the kind of spark Wales will need to produce the points differential which could snare them the title.

Opponents France are in complete disarray following their first Six Nations defeat to Italy last Saturday.

After a promising start to the campaign, which saw plenty of Gallic flair in the 34-21 win against Scotland and plenty of grit in the 25-22 triumph in Ireland, France suffered a 17-9 reverse at Twickenham.

But the 22-21 loss to the Azzurri was the biggest shock in the past decade of the tournament, and prompted coach Marc Lievremont to refer to his players as “cowards” and the result as a “national disgrace”.

He has made five changes following the defeat, with Imanol Harinordoquy returning in place of Sebastian Chabal after his bizarre omission in the Stadio Flaminio.

Prop Tomas Domingo, who was also surprisingly dropped for the Italy clash, Damian Traille, David Marty and Alexis Pallison are all selected.

Many believe Lievremont is drinking very much in the last chance saloon and defeat would see him sacked before the World Cup.

But the suspicion remains France simply cannot play as badly as they did last week.

And with the French so gloriously unpredictable, and historically so strong at home, it would come as no surprise to see them put on a show for their fans.

A thriller awaits.