The victory over Wales was a very good illustration of France's current strengths and weaknesses.

France built a 20-0 half-time lead on the back of a dominant pack and an impressive defensive effort that forced mistakes from Wales. The hosts may not have been dominated in terms of possession and occupation but they were constantly under pressure from France's rush defence and as a result opted for some awkward passes that led to interceptions - gladly converted into tries by Alexis Palisson and François Trinh-Duc.

With such a commanding lead, I, like many French fans, thought that my side were in control and would play a controlled game in the second half to close out the game. But it was not to be. It only took a little variation to the Welsh kicking game (putting the ball over the on-rushing defence) to change the entire shape of the game.

Wales stole the initiative and with it the all-important momentum. France's pack bailed them out of trouble, especially at the lineout, and thanks to a couple of errors from Welsh fullback Lee Byrne the visitors were able to put some daylight between them and the resurgent hosts. A huge relief, but nothing to be really proud of.

After such a strong performance against Ireland in Paris, it was a shame to see France fail to maintain those standards. If you're an optimistic fan, you would accept that playing away from home against a dangerous side is always going to cause you problems. But having shown that they can beat a side famed for its own pack and a precise kicking game, France failed to convince us that they have a Plan B when the opposition is arguably more dynamic.

France have previously relied on a strong pack and the talent of the backs to come up with a solution if Plan A doesn't work. But on this occasion France came up short, they were not able to adapt to Wales' change in approach. You can't just rely on good defence to win games because every side heading to the World Cup will be able to boast such an attribute - you will always need more. Even the World Cup-winning Wallabies in 1999, famed for their miserly defence, were able to deliver more in attack. It is something that France coach Marc Lievremont needs to address.

It is true that it takes time to nurture this aspect of the game but time is running out. Let's just hope that winning the Grand Slam, by any means, is the primary focus of Lievremont and his assistants. That would grant them enough time and credibility to build the kind of momentum, and backline creativity, needed for the World Cup.

Jean Palfrey