France have moved on from their defeat to England and are focused on beating Wales to keep their Guinness Six Nations hopes alive according to centre Gaël Fickou.
Les Bleus saw their Grand Slam hopes ended by Maro Itoje’s late try at Twickenham, losing 23-20 to England.
That leaves them needing to beat Wales on Saturday, as well as Scotland in their rearranged match, in order to have a chance at the title.
And Fickou, the most experienced member of the France squad, despite still being only 26, insists his team are ready for the challenge.
He said: “There is positive pressure. We lost in England last weekend. At the start we were frustrated. Now we’ve moved past that and are concentrating on Wales.
“We know it’s an important match for us. We are still in the race for the title. We are really motivated. We will do everything to win this game and we’ll be ready, I’m sure of it.”
Wales lead the way in the attacking stakes this season, with 17 tries in four matches, while France sit second with 11, having played a game fewer.
Nine of their tries have come from the backs with the likes of Teddy Thomas and Damian Penaud proving particularly dangerous out wide.
And Fickou knows France will have to make the most of their attacking flair to get the better of an in-form Welsh team.
He added: “There has always been quality in the France team. It wasn’t as obvious because we didn’t dominate as much. But it’s true in the last year we have seen that we score a lot of tries from incredible players.
“Most of those players like Teddy Thomas, Virimi Vakatawa or Damian Penaud, bring an added extra to our game. We’ll have to use that against Wales. It will be an important weapon for us. It’s one of our strengths.”
France have made two changes to their squad for the Wales game, with Arthur Vincent and Uini Atonio recalled in place of Jonathan Danty and Wilfrid Hounkpatin.
