The other important thing to bear in mind is that we can still win the 2008 RBS 6 Nations, even though Wales are aiming for the Grand Slam and are far ahead of us on points.

Apart from our defeat at the hands of England two weeks ago we can say that our performance in this tournament has been positive. Against Italy at the weekend les Bleus scored another three tries however they struggled again in the scrum but this is an area where they can improve quickly.

As far as the Italians are concerned, they behaved and played the way we expected them to. They were courageous, strong up front, they had a good ball possession and a little bit of talent at the back.

Apart from their heavy loss to Wales, they finished all their matches with tight scores, whether it was against Ireland, England or France.

This is a team that is progressing a lot, especially up front, but it is lacking a few talents in the backs. They would need a few gifted players such as Vincent Clerc, Cédric Heymans or Aurélien Rougerie in their team.

All the changes that the French coaching staff have made since the start of the tournament have been positive for the team.

Of course the situation is difficult because we are in a transitional phase. The first year the coaches usually want to see as many players as possible. It is true that Marc Lievremont and co have brought in a lot of new faces. So far in this tournament, they have seen a total of 37 new players in only four matches!

It's very refreshing for a team to be able to do that. Harmony within the players and consistency in the results will come later. The prime objective was to try as much as possible and then the time will when the coaches can fine tune their team.

Our last clash will be against Wales. This is going to be a great encounter in Cardiff. The whole country is waiting for this match. The Welsh have the opportunity to win the Grand Slam.

Such a situation was unthinkable after their poor performance at the latest World Cup. The atmosphere will be intense and the match certainly of a very high calibre.