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Ntamack silences Grand Slam talk after France end Cardiff hoodoo

France kept their Grand Slam hopes live with a famous win in Cardiff, but Romain Ntamack says they are not getting ahead of themselves.

Published

6 years ago

22nd February 2020

KEO News Wire

Romain Ntamack says Six Nations leaders France are not discussing the prospect of winning a Grand Slam after he inspired a magnificent 27-23 victory over Wales.

Les Bleus ended a 10-year wait for a victory in Cardiff to outline their title credentials in a thriller at a raucous Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Fly-half Ntamack score a crucial intercept try in the second half following first-half scores from Anthony Bouthier and Paul Willemse.

Dan Biggar’s 18-point haul was in vain as the defending champions suffered back-to-back defeats to leave their hopes of retaining the title in tatters.

France went on to complete a clean sweep after their last win in Wales back in 2010, which is the last time they won the tournament.

Ntamack, who was named man of the match after scoring 17 points and showing maturity way beyond his years, says they are not getting ahead of themselves in what has been a dream start to the Fabien Galthie era.

“It’s amazing. We worked the whole week for a big game like that. It was a very tough game,” he told BBC Sport.

“We have no experience, but we play with a smile. It was a good experience to win at the Principality.

“The try was a good moment. We don’t think about the Grand Slam, we play match after match.”

A match for the ages in Cardiff… Relive the key moments with our highlights of @WelshRugbyUnion v @FranceRugby #WALvFRA #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/qH5mbfHKQ3

— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 22, 2020

Captain Alun Wyn Jones says Wales only had themselves to blame.

“The scoreboard said they deserved it,” he said. “You make your own luck sometimes and we fell short on the scoreboard.

“We gave them two penalties and they scored. In the second half, we had the ascendancy and we felt we should have got more out of that scrum. There was a case for a couple of penalty tries.

“They have a very good defence coach [former Wales defence guru Shaun Edwards] and were an embodiment of that today.”

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