France edge past Valiant Wales

A brave Wales side, who were reduced to14 men in the first half, could not beat the French at the Eden Park stadium in New Zealand. France won the game 9-8 after 80 minutes in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in controversial circumstances as Irish referee Alain Rolland sent off Welsh captain Sam Warburton for a high tackle after just 18 minutes of play.

A dejected Warburton after his dismissal.

It was nothing but a stupid tackle, however this foul did not appear to warrant a red card and a yellow would have been a justified decision. Nevertheless, Wales were given a disadvantage and this may have ruined the game as a spectacle. It was Wales who took an early lead with a penalty converted from James Hook. Hook had another penalty when the French front row was penalised but Hook couldn't put it in between the posts as it drifted towards the right. Then in the 18th minute it all went wrong for Wales when captain Warburton challenged Vincent Clerc and took him off his feet but immediately released him as his feet went off the floor. It was a bad challenge but Warburton realised this and let him go as soon as Clerc's feet were lifted off the ground. Despite Warburton's innocence, the referee, without referring to video evidence, sent off Warburton and Wales were facing a huge task ahead of them.

France soon got it level as well, Wales had a scrum and had the put in but France pushed the srum and won a penalty which was well taken by Morgan Parra. This made it 3-3 and France had the advanatage once more when Wales conceded another penalty from a scrum that was once again converted by Parra making it 6-3 to   Les Blues. It was continuing to be a kicking game when France extended their lead 10 minutes into the second half and Parra continued his good record in this game gaining the 3 points from a difficult position.

Williams with Wales try.

Wales responded and kept on pressuring the French and this paid off in the 58th minute. Wales got the first try of the game with Phillips picking up the ball from the ruck, dummying a pass and then going all the way to grab 5 points that got it back to 8-9. The conversion would have taken Wales into the lead but Stephen Jones  hit the post and agonisingly missed the opportunity to give Wales the advantage. It was now all to play for though with just a point separating the two sides.

Wales attacked France and kept possession for as long as they possibly could but with just 5 minutes to go, their opposition were remaining resilient. A drop goal would have been enough to win the game but the Welsh couldn't get themselves in the position to do so and that was a credit to France's determination. With the 80 minutes up, it was do or die for Wales but they lost possession and France inevitably kicked the ball out to put them through to the Rugby World Cup final.

France players celebrate victory.

It was utter heartbreak for Wales who have been magnificent for the whole campaign and showed great commitment again in this semi-final. They were given an early setback with the dismissal of their captain but kept on fighting until the very end and came so close to reaching that glamorous final but France just edged past them in the end. The sending off will be the main talking point of this game and the referee will come under a lot of criticism for this unfair decision. Wales have a lot of positives to take from this World cup and can certainly look forward to the future, there is a lot of potential in the side and they will most definitely be a world class side with more progress and development. Many believe that France have been the worst side in this tournament and don't deserve to be in the final but the fact is that they are there and have a great opportunity to win the world cup. They will either face New Zealand or Australia depending on the outcome of tomorrow's massive semi-final which should be a fantastic contest in this major rivalry. For Wales, their journey is not over just yet , they still have a 3rd/4th play-off to play next week so they still have the chance to finish strongly. 3rd place will still be a great achievement and reflect on how successful they have been in this tournament. They will play the losers of tomorrow's semi-final. France will now wait to see who they will face in the battle to claim the World Champion's status next weekend.