France captain Antoine Dupont said on Friday that his side were aiming to “score as many points as possible” against Wales in the hope of exploiting Ireland’s slip and retaining their Six Nations title.
A week after running away with a record 53 points in their thrashing of England, Les Bleus know they must repeat that feat on Saturday to stand a chance.
France can overtake Ireland and win the championship if they run in four tries for a bonus-point victory at the Stade de France and Ireland, who played the last game of the day, then lost to England without taking a bonus point.
If the two sides finish level in the table, France will have to erase Ireland’s 20-point edge on goal difference to take the crown.
“We can still mathematically win even though fate is not in our hands,” Dupont told reporters.
“We will play the game to win, to score as many points as possible even though we know England’s chances of winning in Ireland.
“We concentrate on ourselves, to play well,” he said.
This year’s Rugby World Cup hosts lost to Ireland in Dublin and Dupont will be hoping his players don’t get carried away by last week’s impressive display at Twickenham.
“I think there is a risk that we are overconfident, it is something we discussed this week,” Dupont said.
“At this level, you cannot stop, or drop your level of alertness or you will fall into a bad habit, like losing the final game.
“Confidence can play tricks on you, and we have to be careful,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Dupont’s Wales counterpart Ken Owens said there was no pressure on his side with the hosts unbeaten at home since March 2021.
Owens’ outfit have won just once this campaign, last Saturday’s victory over Italy.
“The pressure is not on the outside, because nobody expects anything from us,” Owens told reporters.
“There’s added pressure when you’re the favorite because most of the time you have confidence and momentum and you’re the favorite,” he said.
‘Other goals’
The Wales tournament has been marred by problems on the pitch including allegations of a “toxic culture” at the Welsh Rugby Union with claims of sexism, racism and homophobia made by former employees.
Last month, a strike by players over contract issues was called off just days before the loss to England, which came after defeats to Ireland and Scotland.
“We know we have to be better to compete with the top teams in this competition,” said hooker Owens.
“We’ve done that in certain areas and we need to be on top of our game on Saturday,” he said.
This weekend’s match will be France’s last competitive game before they welcome New Zealand in their World Cup opener on September 8.
Before facing the All Blacks, they faced Scotland twice as well as Fiji and Australia in pre-tournament Tests.
“For 2023, everyone is thinking about the World Cup,” Dupont said.
“It is important to focus on the Six Nations, to prepare for the games seriously without looking too far ahead.
“This is what we have done during the Six Nations. This is what we will do this week before thinking about other goals,” he said.