France vs Wales, Six Nations 2025: Kick-off time, TV channel, live stream, team news, lineups, h2h, odds

France and Wales raise the curtain on the 2025 Six Nations with a Friday night clash in Paris.

The hosts will be out to deliver a commanding opening victory on home soil to throw down the early title gauntlet to back-to-back champions Ireland, having been made favourites for this year’s competition after finishing as runners-up to the Men in Green twice since winning a first title since 2010 with their 2022 Grand Slam.

Their chances of glory have been significantly boosted by the return of Antoine Dupont, who was absent for last year’s Six Nations having decided to represent his country in rugby sevens instead at their home Olympic Games, going on to deliver gold.

It is a truly daunting start to the campaign for Wales, who endured a horrific 2024 - their worst year ever - and enter this tournament having lost a record 12 Test matches in a row.

Warren Gatland remains at the helm for now, but his position has come under intense scrutiny amid such a torrid run of form that last year included a first Six Nations wooden spoon since 2003.

France vs Wales date, kick-off time and venue

France vs Wales is set for an 8:15pm GMT kick-off on Friday January 31, 2025 at the Stade de France in Paris, which is hosting Six Nations games again this year after renovation works caused Les Bleus to play in Marseille, Lille and Lyon 12 months ago.

How to watch France vs Wales

TV channel: In the UK, France vs Wales is being shown live and free-to-air on ITV1 and Welsh-language channel S4C, with coverage beginning on both at 7:30pm GMT.

Live stream: Free coverage is also available online via ITVX and S4C Clic.

Live blog: You can also follow Friday’s game as it happens with Standard Sport’s live match blog.

France vs Wales team news

Dupont was back on 15-a-side France duty in the autumn, but Les Bleus have now been furthered boosted by the return of fly-half Romain Ntamack, who starts alongside his Toulouse team-mate as their first-choice half-back pairing is finally reunited with Ntamack having not played internationally since the summer of 2023 due to injury.

Star wing Damian Penaud is out with a toe complaint, leading to a start for Pau’s 20-year-old Theo Attissogbe out wide.

Centres Jonathan Danty and Gael Fickou are also sidelined at the moment, with Pierre-Louis Barassi partnering Yoram Moefana in a new midfield partnership, but wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey is fit to start despite dealing with an inner ear issue of late and Thomas Ramos shifts from fly-half back to 15. Mathieu Jalibert has not been picked for the matchday squad.

There’s a first start in the French second row for Alexandre Roumat, while Paul Boudehent fills in at openside flanker with former captain Charles Ollivon missing the entire Six Nations after knee surgery.

Anthony Jelonch, Thibaud Flament, Romain Taofifenua and Reda Wardi are among France’s other most notable injury absentees.

Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou are both among the replacements after aggravated rape charges against the pair were dismissed by an Argentine court in December.

France have six forwards on the bench, with the only cover for the backline provided by scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec and centre Emilien Gailleton.

As for Wales, Taulupe Faletau has been left out of the squad as he’s not quite ready to play.

Josh Adams and Liam Williams do provide some experience, along with centres Nick Tompkins and Owen Watkin, and Dafydd Jenkins is fit again to start at lock.

Henry Thomas and Evan Lloyd make their first starts in the front row, with Keiron Assiratti among the replacements after reportedly struggling with a back spasm.

There are only four of the same players in the starting XV from the side that were comfortably beaten by South Africa in the autumn - Will Rowlands, James Botham, Jac Morgan and Ben Thomas are the surviving quartet.

Fly-half Sam Costelow will not be available for the Six Nations after breaking his collarbone playing for Scarlets in the Challenge Cup earlier this month, with Ben Thomas taking the No10 shirt.

Wales’ fortunes are not helped at all by a raft of other absentees including captain Dewi Lake, who will miss the whole competition after bicep surgery. Back-rower Morgan steps up as skipper in his absence, with Lloyd at hooker.

Adam Beard, Mason Grady, Archie Griffin, Ryan Elias and Ben Carter are some of the other players currently unavailable for Wales due to injury, while Gatland has made some notable omissions from his tournament squad including Gareth Anscombe, Rio Dyer, Cameron Winnett, Taine Plumtree and Max Llewellyn.

France vs Wales lineups

France XV: Ramos; Attissogbe, Barassi, Moefana, Bielle-Biarrey; Ntamack, Dupont (c); Gros, Mauvaka, Atonio; Roumat, Meafou; Cros, Boudehent, Alldritt

Replacements: Marchand, Baille, Colombe, Auradou, Guillard, Jegou, Le Garrec, Gailleton

Wales XV: L Williams; Rogers, Tompkins, Watkin, Adams; B Thomas, T Williams; G Thomas, Lloyd, H Thomas; Rowlands, Jenkins; Botham, Morgan (c), Wainwright

Replacements: Dee, Smith, Assiratti, F Thomas, Reffell, R Williams, Edwards, Murray

France vs Wales head to head (h2h) history and results

France are aiming to notch up a seventh successive win against Wales, to whom they have not lost since the 2019 World Cup quarter-finals in Japan.

They had previously lost every contest between the two nations between 2012-19 bar one, though have dominated the fixture in recent times, winning each of the last five Six Nations showdowns including last year’s thrilling 45-24 bonus-point victory in Cardiff.

France wins: 50

Wales wins: 51

Draws: 3

France vs Wales prediction

A Wales team in the midst of a record losing run could simply not have asked for a tougher start to this Six Nations campaign than opening night away in Paris.

With the likes of Dupont and Ntamack back in the fold, France are favourites for the title with good reason and will be eager to put on a show in this curtain-raiser to send an early warning shot to Ireland, who host England in Dublin on Saturday.

Wales can be forgiven for perhaps already having one eye on next weekend’s trip to Rome, which will likely go a long way to deciding if they are staring down the barrel of another winless campaign and wooden spoon.

Gatland needs to start picking up results fast but it is extremely difficult to see how they can even employ much by way of damage limitation here, much less stun fancied France, who have supreme attacking threats all over the park.

Their only hope for a somewhat respectable night is that they catch Les Bleus a little cold in round one, with Galthie’s side not yet firing on all cylinders. But even that seems a very tall order.

France to win, by at least 20 points.

France vs Wales match odds

France to win: 1/50

Wales to win: 22/1

Draw: 50/1

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).