Cracking the Code

Wales spent the first forty minutes of last night's Six Nations opener trying to out French the French. It wasn't to be. With a sixteen point half time lead, the French left their controlled, accurate version of va va voom in the changers. Preferring instead to spark up a Marlboro Red, slurp from a glass of Bordeaux before proceeding to drag the Gilloutine slowly, painfully and publicly over their own throat. The opening stanza was concluded by a Cammy Lopez drop goal that was symptomatic of the first half. A smart decision that was delivered on the back of easy running metres and a skill level that made a mockery of Wales' inability to handle the Parisian deluge. From a Welsh perspective it was more points conceded on the back of an error, albeit a judgment rather than another handling mishap. My toys were all over the living room floor at this point. The Welsh comeback was ignited by a play that saw either team at polar opposites on the effort chart. Josh Adams hit