There was an awkward moment in Cardiff as Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland walked out on his post match interview after his side's 45-24 loss to France.
Wales are still winless after five games in this year's Six Nations and have conceded the most tries so far with 14. They sit bottom of the table, four points off Italy who they face next week on Super Saturday in a battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
A frustrated Warren Gatland waited to do his post match interview but when he was left waiting longer than expected, he walked out on the interview with the BBC's Sonja McLaughlan in what looked like a tense moment caught on camera.
And that’s a wrap. #6Nations pic.twitter.com/glXkbRFcPw
— Harry Jones (@haribaldijones) March 10, 2024
Gatland would go on to do the interview after the awkward exchange. He said that his side "overplayed" and "didn't manage the game" when they were in front.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland says his side "overplayed" as the lead slipped away from them in the 2nd half#BBCRugby pic.twitter.com/Qkn3v8PIEn
— BBC ScrumV (@BBCScrumV) March 10, 2024
UPDATE: this evening McLaughlin tweeted to confirm she has no issue with Gatland.
Just to make clear. No issue with Warren Gatland post match. We asked for a short delay so we could do the interview live. But Warren had to do S4C before coming back to air his thoughts on the BBC. Always enjoy talking to him and today no different.
— Sonja McLaughlan (@Sonjamclaughlan) March 10, 2024
Frustrating Day For Wales After Loss To France
Warren Gatland had a right to be frustrated with his side as they showed in spells today that they were better than the French. They had France on the ropes for a lot of the match but a dominant final quarter saw Les Bleus pull away.
It was a ding-dong battle in the first half in Cardiff. Rio Dyer got the first try of the game after making a break in midfield with eight minutes on the clock. French captain Gael Fickou scored a try fifteen minutes later which was answered by Wales' Tomos Williams just three minutes after that. Player of the Match Nolann Le Garrec got on the scoresheet before halftime as Les Bleus went into the break 20-17 up.
Wales sparked hope at the start of the second half with a try from Joe Thomas to give them a 24-17 lead. France brought on the cavalry in the Taofifenua brothers Romain and Sebastien, Peato Mauvaka and debutant Georges-Henri Colombe. The gargantuan quartet dominated the Welsh pack and gave France the front foot ball they needed.
After a long spell of Welsh defence on their line, Colombe himself would be the one to give France the lead once again with a try on debut. This was followed up with another score a few minutes later from Romain Taofifenua as the second row gathered a charged down kick to score in the corner with ten minutes to go.
By that point Wales had lost all momentum and a further try from France put the nail in the coffin for Wales. The 45-24 scoreline flatters the French who are yet to reach their 2022 Grand Slam peak in this campaign. However, they still have a chance next week to win the championship, but would need a very big win over England along with a very heavy Irish defeat.
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