Wales v France - your guide to the Six Nations date

Wales and France will renew a 118-year rivalry when they face each other in the Six Nations game in Cardiff on Sunday.

Wales' 48-7 away loss to England emphasised why these are grim times for Welsh rugby.

Head coach Steve Tandy and his players must now regroup in time for the weekend visit of Les Bleus to the Principality Stadium.

French fans will arrive for a weekend of rugby in the Welsh capital in high spirits as they chase a first Grand Slam since 2022.

France are due to name their team on Thursday morning, with Wales set to announce 24 hours later.

The match kicks off at 15:10 GMT and there will be live television coverage on BBC One and audio commentary on BBC Sounds via BBC Radio Sports Extra 2, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru.

The commentary will also be available on the BBC Sport website where you can follow blow-by-blow action with our live text commentary.

The match is also being televised on S4C.

For all the build-up and analysis, follow the rugby union section on the BBC Sport website.

France make two changes to the XV that beat Ireland with 20-year-old centre Fabien Brau-Boirie making his Test debut.

The Pau back, who has scored nine tries in 15 games this season, is joined by club teammate Emilien Gailleton.

They are backed up on the bench by another potential debutant, Stade Francais centre Noah Nene.

All France's big hitters - including star half-backs Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert - start in the bid for a second bonus-point victory.

Wales name their team on Friday morning.

France: Ramos; Attissogbe, Gailleton, Brau-Boirie, Bielle-Biarrey; Jalibert, Dupont (capt); Gros, Marchand, Aldegheri, Ollivon, Guillard, Cros, Jegou, Jelonch.

Replacements: Lamothe, Neti, Montagne, Flament, Meafou, Nouchi, Serin, Nene.

New Zealand referee James Doleman will be the man in the middle and will be assisted by England's Christophe Ridley and Sam Grove-White from Scotland.

New Zealander Richard Kelly is the television match official (TMO), with Scotland's Mike Adamson in charge of the foul play review process (FPRO).

Sunday will represent 1,072 days since Wales' previous home Six Nations victory against Scotland in February 2022.

Wales have lost their past 12 games in the tournament with the previous win coming against Italy in Rome in March 2023.

Wales' 48-7 hammering by England last weekend was a 22nd international defeat in 24 matches.

Defending Six Nations champions France are favourites to retain their title and win a Grand Slam.

They opened their tournament with a convincing 36-14 victory against Ireland at the Stade de France.

Wales and France have played 105 times since the first game in 1908 with both sides winning 51 games each and three draws.

Wales won the first 15 matches with the opening game being played in Cardiff.

Wales have lost their past seven games against France with the previous win coming in the 2019 World Cup quarter-final in Oita, Japan.

The two sides last faced each other in Paris in January 2025 when Les Bleus humbled their visitors with a 43-0 Six Nations victory.

There are concerns about how many people will turn up at the Principality Stadium to watch Wales' home matches against France, Scotland and Italy in this tournament.

Supporters are switching off because of the woeful recent record on the field and the continued crisis off it.

It will also be a financial concern for the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) because more than 50% of its turnover comes from the gate receipts of the men's home internationals in Cardiff.

The lowest crowd for a Wales' home Six Nations game against France came in 2022 when 63,208 attended a Friday night game, while the smallest overall attendance in this tournament at the Principality Stadium was 58,349 against Italy in 2002.

Two years the same fixture was held on a Sunday and attracted a crowd of 71,242.

This weekend will give us a clearer indication if Welsh fans are starting to vote with their feet.