Whilst Wales have shown promise in spells running both Scotland and England close in the tournament, it has been very much a transitional campaign for Gatland’s side who would also be well beaten 31-7 in Dublin a fortnight ago.
Next up tomorrow afternoon comes an unpredictable French side struggling for form and smarting from a surprise 13-13 draw with Italy in Paris. A result that effectively ended their tournament challenge and heaped pressure on under-fire French Coach Fabien Galthié to finish the tournament strongly.
Recent history does not favour Wales, having lost their last five Six Nations games against les bleus, although two of those defeats have come by small margins.
As Wales’ head-coach begins building for the World Cup in 2027, this time around there is a golden opportunity to end the sequence with the Kiwi knowing victory over the French would do wonders in terms of that process.
Gatland is expecting a tough battle against France and has stressed his team will need a complete performance to get any sort of result in the Welsh capital.
“It’ll be a tough, physical challenge from France on Sunday particularly up front,” said Gatland.
“They are going to come hard at you early, so you have got to stay in that battle, and try and negate that physical dominance of their forwards and the huge size they have,” said Gatland.
“We know they will start strong and it’s about us staying in the fight, having good line speed defensively and keeping our discipline. We’re looking for an 80-minute performance.
“Hopefully, when some of their forwards begin to tire a bit, we will be able to take advantage.
“They’ve got a huge pack but that’s the challenge for us, moving them around.
Gatland would raise a few eyebrows in Thursday’s team selection replacing the 155-cap centre duo of Ospreys George North and Saracens Nick Tompkins with the inexperienced pairing of Joe Roberts and North’s club teammate Owen Watkin.
With one eye on the building for the future, Gatland feels that Roberts’ form for his club side has earned the Scarlets man a chance in the starting XV.
“I just wanted to give Joe an opportunity,” continued Gatland.
“We’ve got to make sure we’ve got some depth in that 13 position.
“They [North and Tompkins] were outstanding during the World Cup but it’s a chance for us to look at a few other players.
“He [Roberts] was unlucky with the World Cup. He had a knee injury and was probably just unable to handle the volume. He’s been training well, and we feel it’s a chance for him.
“He gives us a left-footed option. Traditionally France have kicked a lot and at length. We might have to get into a kicking battle at some stage. It’s just a reward for how he’s trained. It’s on him to go out there and take his chance.
“We have some young boys who in the next couple of years are definitely going to learn from some of the experiences they’ve had.
“I can’t question the effort of these players. It’s not a challenge getting them up for these matches. We’re desperate to get that win. We’ve had opportunities.
“We’re excited to be back at home for our last two matches and are looking forward to getting out in front of a passionate Welsh crowd this weekend.”
[Lead image: Welsh Rugby Union]
