France v Wales, Six Nations Chmapionship, February 28
Jones expects game of extremes in Paris
Scrum.com
February 24, 2009
Wales Alun-Wyn Jones (R) and Adam Jones sing the national anthem, Wales v England, Six Nations Championship, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, February 14, 2009
Alun-Wyn Jones (R) has played up the strengths of the Welsh front-five as they prepare to take on France © Getty Images
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Wales lock Alun-Wyn Jones is predicting a game of extremes when his side travel to face France at the Stade de France on Friday night.

With both sides famed for their ability to attack some have predicted an open and free-flowing game, but anyone who saw Wales' front-five blunt both England and Scotland knows that they will be just as comfortable should the game come down to close-quarter exchanges.

"You know France are going to try to attack from everywhere," said Jones. "Their game-plan seems to be to score off every opportunity. It is going to be a very stressful evening but exciting at the same time.

"There is such limited pattern in their game. It is unpredictable. It could either be a war of attrition or a very exciting game with a high ball-in-play time and a lot of running rugby. It will be one of the two extremes, I think."

Jones has been in excellent form so far during the tournament, bagging a try against Scotland and putting in a remarkable 21 tackles against England last time out. The fact that he missed two, both on England inside-centre Riki Flutey, rankles Jones and shows the Welsh squad's new-found commitment to excellence.

"We had been hammering on all week about Flutey's left-foot step and I missed it twice," said the Ospreys lock. "It should have been 23 tackles rather than 21. I guess it was a case of being too keen in defence."

Wales boss Warren Gatland puts a great deal of stock in honesty amongst his squad, a policy that has bred leaders in key positions despite the awkwardness and difficulty of criticising team-mates.

"The balance we need is between being critical and harsh, and getting that element of fine detail we need in a game," said Jones. "We are becoming a lot more honest. I think it was hard at first because we've had a culture of being very nice to each other in Wales. The honesty is there now and being critical is something we've got to develop and instil within the culture.

"It is not a case of being bitchy, it's a case of what is good for the squad and for the team. If someone is not doing their role, then they are being brought up on it. It's very easy to watch a coach doing it - it's quite difficult for a player - but we are endeavouring to develop that. It is probably one of the most difficult parts of training when you've got to pull up your mate and say 'that's not good enough'.

"But we are all comfortable with each other and comfortable enough to say that to each other."

Jones has been tipped as a potential British and Irish Lions tourist at the end of the season, and it is looking increasingly likely that some of his Welsh colleagues may be packing down in the front-five alongside him.

"If you look at Gethin [Jenkins, prop], he made 15 tackles against England. The stats speak for themselves," Jones said. "There was one passage of play when he tackled on the 10-metre line, then turned and worked his way back and tackled someone else on the 22. That is a great work-rate for a prop.

"There is a lot of competition within the squad, with all the boys wanting to do the best for the team. It's a good environment to be in."

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