Sam Warburton will equal Ryan Jones’s record of 33 Tests as Wales captain when he leads the side out against France in Paris on Saturday, a match the 2013 champions have to win to retain any chance of regaining the crown they lost to Ireland last year.
If they achieve a fourth successive championship victory over France for the first time since the 1950s, they would need Ireland to defeat England in Dublin the next day and then overcome the Irish in Cardiff in the following round before gorging themselves on points on the final day against Italy in Rome.
“We know that if we lose another match we are pretty much out of the title race,” said the Wales No8 Taulupe Faletau. “We have been here before after losing our first match in 2013 and going on to win the title so we know it can be done. We can draw from that experience, but we need someone to slip up.”
Faletau has spent virtually all of Warburton’s reign in the back row alongside the captain and with Dan Lydiate, they are Wales’s most-capped combination there and are on course to break the national record in the Six Nations.
“They chucked Sam in quite early and he’s done well,” Faletau said. “He has led by example and every year he gets better and better as a captain. He was young when he was given the responsibility and, as he will say himself, it was a bit weird and awkward for him having to get so many experienced boys listening to what he said.
“He has grown into it. He talks when he needs to and the boys follow the example he sets on the pitch. He earned the respect of players from other countries with the Lions and he has been successful; he has got the team to a World Cup semi-final, a grand slam and a Six Nations title. For me, it is always good to pay alongside Sam and Dan.”
Wales have a much better record at Stade de France – four victories and four defeats – than they did at Parc des Princes where, after Les Bleus moved from Stade de Colombes in the early 1970s, they succeeded only at the first attempt. France are bidding for a top-half finish for the first time since 2011 and have managed one try in their opening two matches.
“They were unlucky not to win in Dublin after coming back in the second half and they are a dangerous side,” Faletau said. “They are physical but we do not mind that. We will not back down from anything. They will miss Pascal Papé [who was last week banned for 10 weeks for kneeing Ireland’s Jamie Heaslip in the back]. I have not seen the incident but it caused a serious injury and was reckless. Cameras and citing officers have virtually eliminated that sort of thing.
“We are always confident of winning games and we had a big victory in Paris two years ago that proved a catalyst for our title challenge. We have room for improvement and by the time the World Cup comes around we will be in a better place.”
