Wales vs France, Rugby World Cup 2019 LIVE result: Latest reaction from today’s quarter-final

Follow the latest reaction from the Rugby World Cup quarter-final thriller between Wales and France

Wales 35-13 Uruguay: French test awaits Wales in RWC quarter-finals

Ross Moriarty scored the winning try as Wales exploited their numerical superiority to rally for a 20-19 victory over France in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday after French lock Sebastien Vahaamahina had been shown a red card.

In an echo of the semi-final meeting between the two nations in 2011 when France won after Sam Warburton was sent off, the Six Nations champions overhauled a nine-point deficit after Vahaamahina was dismissed for foul play in the 49th minute.

Replacement loose forward Moriarty crossed in the 74th minute to give Wales an eighth win in their last nine meetings with France and set up a semi-final against hosts Japan or South Africa, who play in Tokyo later on Sunday.

France had threatened to stage another sensational World Cup upset after a brilliant first-half display in which they scored three tries, including two in the first eight minutes, to lead 19-10 at the break.

Reuters

When is the match?

Wales vs France takes place on Sunday 20 October at Oita Stadium.

What time does it start?

The quarter-final kicks off at 4:15pm Japan Standard Time, which is 8:15am BST.

Where can I watch it?

The match will be shown live on ITV and the ITV Hub online from 7:30am BST. Highlights will be shown on ITV4 from 7pm.

Teams

Wales: Liam Williams, George North, Jonathan Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies, Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis, Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones (c), Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi.

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Rhys Carre, Dillon Lewis, Adam Beard, Ross Moriarty, Tomos Williams, Rhys Patchell, Owen Watkin.

France: Maxime Medard, Damian Penaud, Virimi Vakatawa, Gael Fickou, Yoann Huget, Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont, Jefferson Poirot, Guilhem Guirado (c), Rabah Slimani, Bernard le Roux, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Wenceslas Lauret, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.

Replacements: Camille Chat, Cyril Baille, Emerick Setiano, Paul Gabrillagues, Louis Picamoles, Baptiste Serin, Camille Lopez, Vincent Rattez.

Odds

Wales to win: 2/5

France to win: 11/4

Draw: 30/1

Prediction

Wales 25-10 France: Wales appear to have all of their big guns fully fit for the knockout clash, and if they can reach the levels that they achieved against Australia in the pool stage, they should reach the semi-finals for the third time in their history.

Key Points

• France score two tries in eight minutes through Vahaamahina and Ollivon
• Wales hit back with Wainwright try
• Vakatawa strikes to stretch French lead to nine points

[20 October 2019 06:24 · Jack de Menezes]

Welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Rugby World Cup, with today's action kicking off with the third quarter-final clash of the weekend as Wales take on Six Nations rivals France at Oita Stadium.

After England and New Zealand booked their place in the last four, today its up to Wales, France, South Africa and Japan to fight it out for the two remaining semi-final berths, beginning with this clash between the Pool D winners and Pool C runners up.

Both teams have made it to the last eight without losing a game, with Wales impressively beating Australia to win the pool and France just holding on against Argentina and Tonga before seeing their showdown game against England cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis.

It means that France have not played a game for two weeks, while Wales safely negotiated their way past Uruguay last Sunday despite resting the bulk of their starting XV today.

Kick-off is at 8:15am BST, and we'll bring you all the build-up to the third quarter-final of the weekend.

[20 October 2019 07:05 · Jack de Menezes]

BREAKING NEWSWales centre Jonathan Davies has been ruled out of the match an hour before kick-off.

Davies has aggravated the knee injury that he suffered in the victory over Fiji 11 days ago, and as a result he has been withdrawn from the squad and replaced at outside centre by Owen Watkin. Leigh Halfpenny, initially left out of the squad, is added to the bench, but that's a huge blow for Wales's physical approach out wide.

[20 October 2019 07:05 · Jack de Menezes]

Here's confirmation of the change:

[20 October 2019 07:21 · Jack de Menezes]

[20 October 2019 07:33 · Jack de Menezes]

BREAKING NEWSThe big stories continue to roll in ahead of kick-off, with Michael Cheika confirming his intention to quit as Australia coach following their World Cup exit yesterday.

[20 October 2019 07:54 · Jack de Menezes]

So after all the drama of the last few minutes, here's the final confirmed teams for today's encounter, taking into account the late withdrawal of Jonathan Davies.

Wales: Liam Williams; George North, Owen Watkin, Hadleigh Parkes, Josh Adams; Dan Biggar, Gareth Davies; Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Tomas Francis; Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones; Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric, Josh Navidi.

Replacements: Elliot Dee, Rhys Carre, Dillon Lewis, Adam Beard, Ross Moriarty, Tomos Williams, Rhys Patchell, Leigh Halfpenny.

France: Maxime Medard; Damian Penaud, Virimi Vakatawa, Gael Fickou, Yoann Huget; Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont; Jefferson Poirot, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani; Bernard le Roux, Sebastien Vahaamahina; Wenceslas Lauret, Charles Ollivon, Gregory Alldritt.

Replacements: Camille Chat, Cyril Baille, Emerick Setiano, Paul Gabrillagues, Louis Picamoles, Baptiste Serin, Camille Lopez, Vincent Rattez.

[20 October 2019 07:56 · Jack de Menezes]

Warren Gatland has spoken to TV to give a little more detail on the absence of Jonathan Davies: “Owen Watkin is going to be a player for the future and we’ve got a lot of faith in him. Owen took a lot of time in training this week.

"We thought he (Davies) might struggle a little bit and unfortunately he hasn’t been able to get through.”

[20 October 2019 08:03 · Jack de Menezes]

The teams head in from their warm ups at the same time as the stands around them slowly fill up. Pockets of red and blue can be seen everywhere you look, with thousands travelling over from Europe to support their sides. With one northern hemisphere nation already through to the last four in England, who will join them from this encounter?

[20 October 2019 08:07 · Jack de Menezes]

It's the French fans who are making significantly more noise as the teams are read out, with the rowdy Les Bleus faithful also bringing the familiar noise of airhorns to fill the air inside the Oita Stadium.

[20 October 2019 08:11 · Jack de Menezes]

Led out by Alun Wyn Jones and Guilhem Guirado, here come the teams!

Time for the anthems - and it's two of the best in world rugby up today.