Admittedly, Wales offered little and were awful, but as awful as they were in Paris, hosts France were awesome.
The Springboks play France in November and it is shaping up as the most anticipated Test of the year — even more than the Springboks visit to Auckland’s Eden Park on September 9.
The Boks stunned the French and most of world rugby, it seems given the post-match reactions, when they beat France 29-28 in the 2023 World Cup quarterfinals.
The French felt New Zealand referee Ben O’Keefe had done them dirty, coach Fabian Galthie said it was a scar that would never heal and one the French squad and management would have to live with forever.
The World Cup defeat cut deep, and the only way to soften the memory is to consistently play the Springboks and consistently win. This year will be the first time the two teams will meet since that golden night for the Boks — and the darkest of nights for the French.
The Boks, who last season enjoyed the ultimate home Test schedule — with back-to-back Tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban, and back-to-back against the All Blacks in Johannesburg and Cape Town — this season face the most daunting in the cycle in between the 2023 World Cup success and the 2027 defence of the title in Australia.
The Boks will play the All Blacks in Auckland and Wellington on successive weekends in September, and in November they will play Tests against France and Ireland, with Italy and Wales the softer cushion of the most demanding of international seasons.
For now the focus is on the Six Nations and in particular France.
Galthie, who had to make do without five first-choice regulars because of injury, still selected a bruising and potent match 23. The depth in French club rugby is at an all-time high, with as many French qualified players starring as there are imports in the Top 14.
Top 14 champions and Champions Cup title winners Toulouse are the spine of the French squad, very similar to Leinster with Ireland, and the starting XV that entertained in Paris on Friday night was pretty much a combination of Toulouse and La Rochelle players; the two teams that have won the last three editions of the Champions Cup.
Wales, on a 12-Test losing streak, were never given any chance of a victory but all the talk in the build-up was about Welsh pride, the nation’s rugby history and the roar of the Welsh dragon.
None of that was on show as the French overwhelmed Wales and blanked them 43-0.
Inspirational French captain and scrumhalf Antoine DuPont was lethal on attack, assisting in three tries in the 49 minutes he played. France scored seven tries and played out the match a player less for the last nine minutes because of flyhalf Romain Ntamack’s red card.
The match was over as a contest by half-time with wingers Theo Attissogbe and Louis Bielle-Biarry scoring a brace each for a 28-0 lead.
If anything, the only surprise was that France did not go past 50 points.
It is the zero that will please Galthie most and it is the same zero that will torment Welsh coach Warren Gatland, who has lost 19 of his 25 Test matches since his return as Welsh coach in December 2022.
Gatland oversaw his 150th Test for Wales in Paris and it proved to be his worst.
Wales have lost 13 Tests in succession, dating back to October 2023.
The 43-0 was a record Six Nations defeat for Wales in France and it was the first time in the Six Nations that they had not scored a point in a Test. They suffered a similar doughnut against France, at Wembley in 1998 when playing in the Five Nations. They lost 51-0.
It was also the first time they failed to score a point since losing 31-0 to Australia in 2007.
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