{"id":7091,"date":"2023-03-18T04:33:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-18T04:33:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/six-nations-2023-wales-hope-to-finish-campaign-with-paris-surprise\/"},"modified":"2023-03-18T04:33:25","modified_gmt":"2023-03-18T04:33:25","slug":"six-nations-2023-wales-hope-to-finish-campaign-with-paris-surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/sport\/six-nations-2023-wales-hope-to-finish-campaign-with-paris-surprise\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Nations 2023: Wales hope to finish campaign with Paris surprise"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Wales players celebrate victory over Italy in Rome with captain Ken Owens leading the way<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n\n
Venue: <\/strong>Stade de France, Paris <\/span>Date:<\/strong> Saturday, 18 March <\/span>Kick-off:<\/strong>14:45 GMT<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Coverage:<\/em> Live on S4C, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, the BBC Sport website & app; live text commentary on BBC Sport website & app.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

So the traumatic and turbulent 2023 Six Nations journey for Welsh rugby finally finishes in Paris.<\/span><\/p>\n

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It is hard to recall a more depressing period of Welsh rugby in recent times with travails on the pitch heightened by the continual controversies off it.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Now Wales find themselves in France, the destination for the World Cup later this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the Stade de France on Saturday, Warren Gatland’s side have the chance to sign off this competition with something to build on for when Wales return for the global tournament in September.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main issue the visitors face is that that hosts France are ranked number two in the world and underlined their status in a record 53-10 demolition of England at Twickenham last weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything points to a home win. Wales will have to prove otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

No Gatland bounce<\/h3>\n
\"Wales<\/span><\/span>
Wales won three Grand Slams and four Six Nations titles during Warren Gatland’s first 12-year stint in charge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is fair to say the Gatland homecoming has not lived up to the romantic expectations of some after he decided to return for a second stint in charge, three years after he left.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was perhaps foolhardy to hope for, let alone expect miracles after a lacklustre 2022 under Wayne Pivac that yielded in only three wins in 12 games which included home defeats against Italy and Georgia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gatland took over from his fellow New Zealander and an optimistic public were hoping for an immediate lift. What they have received is more of the same.<\/span><\/p>\n

It began seven weeks ago with a thumping home loss to Ireland before a record defeat against Scotland at Murrayfield seven days later.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then came the troubled build-up ahead of the England game in Cardiff in which the players threatened not to play because of a dispute over professional player contracts throughout the Welsh game.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Principality Stadium match went ahead, but another defeat ensued before the one relative high of the campaign so far with a hard-fought win over Italy in Rome.<\/span><\/p>\n

This stopped the possibility of slipping outside the world’s top 10 for the first time and avoided a first Six Nations clean sweep of defeats in 20 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the attention turns to upsetting the rampant French on home soil.<\/span><\/p>\n

Six Nations swansongs?<\/h3>\n

Following that first welcome Six Nations win at the seventh attempt, Wales based themselves in Nice as they aimed to avoid the “goldfish bowl” of Welsh rugby.<\/span><\/p>\n

The beautiful French Riviera has now been swapped for the trip north to Paris, regarded as one of the most captivating cities in the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

At the moment walking around the city you might not recognise that description with bags of rubbish piling up on the streets.<\/span><\/p>\n

The French protesters say they are striking for better terms and conditions. Something the Wales squad have also been battling for recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the main sticking points for the French public is the retirement age is looking to be raised from 62 to 64.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gatland has his own dilemmas in how to deal with some of his senior servants, who have become Wales stalwarts over the last decade.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Wales coach flagged the end of an era for Wales in Paris on Saturday by predicting “up to eight” players will potentially make their final Six Nations appearances.<\/span><\/p>\n

Just under half of Gatland’s starting line-up and replacements to tackle France are aged 30 or over. The starting side will boast more than 1,000 caps when the game kicks off at Stade de France.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wales will look to make it a memorable day for number eight Taulupe Faletau, who becomes his country’s eighth cap centurion.<\/span><\/p>\n