There was always a chance whenever I played against France of finding a gap or getting some space. It wasn't that the French players ever really switched off, it was just that they wanted to play on the front foot.
Defence was their Achilles heel. Not any more! The arrival of Shaun Edwards has changed all that and the players in the French dressing room are now probably as afraid of him as the Welsh boys were when he was working so successfully with us.
We all marvel at the running game of Antoine Dupont, the craft of Romain Ntamack and the try scoring ability of Damian Penaud, but the work Shaun has put into the back row trio of Fredrick Gros, Anthony Jelonch and skipper Gregory Alldritt has been immense. It is no surprise to see their work recognised in the statistical charts after three rounds.
Between them they have made 167 tackles to date, with Jelonch leading the way with 60. He also has three turnovers along with Alldritt, the latter also boasting five offloads. Their power at the breakdown has become key to the success of the side, although it is in broken play that the French are most lethal.
Three of their tries at Murrayfield came from broken play. Head coach Fabien Galthie wants his team to turn defence into attack as quickly as possible and in Dupont he has the perfect player to take advantage of any turnovers.
The conundrum for Wales is how do they try to play against a team that has already run in 12 tries in this Championship and is beginning to look like real contenders for the World Cup on home soil next year.
Do you kick and risk a lethal counter attack, or do you attempt to go through the phases, go into contact and risk being turned over to give Dupont a chance to show why he is the World Player of the Year?
At Murrayfield the French were able to swarm the breakdown and put immense pressure on the Scots. They forced them to make quicker decisions than they would have liked and made them uncomfortable in their own stadium whenever they had the ball.
It was a case of squeezing until the pips squeaked – classic Shaun Edwards philosophy, and one that earned his side six tries as they inflicted the heaviest home defeat on the Scots in seven years.
The other aspect of the French play that has shone so far has been their set-piece work. Cameron Woki has been their dominant force at the lineout, where they have lost only one in each game, and their scrum has been rock solid. That gives Dupont and Ntamack a superb platform off which to weave their magic.
Ironically, their tackle success rate dropped down to 78 per cent in Scotland, yet they cantered to victory in compelling fashion. It would have been a pretty jubilant dressing room, but the debrief on Monday with Shaun would have been a different kettle of fish!
“There was no place to hide if you missed a tackle when I was playing under Shaun”
There was no place to hide if you missed a tackle when I was playing under Shaun. His defensive demands standards were always so high and there were only two reasons in his eyes why you couldn't get back up into the defensive line if you got an injury – if you had a broken neck or a broken leg.
You can see the French, who have never been shrinking violets, finally starting to love the physical side of defending. Their back row trio have been given a seek and destroy message and are piling into everything and anything that moves. It just makes you think of Sam Warburton, Dan Lydiate and Taulupe Faletau in their prime!
What it means is that even though they haven't been totally dominant in terms of territory and possession in all their games, they are creating opportunities and making the most of them. One of their tries at Murrayfield went from a Scottish mistake on the French 22 to a try for Penaud in the space of 14 seconds. They enjoyed 15 turnovers against the Scots and ran riot with only 41 per cent of the ball.
But let's not get hung up on statistics. It will be points on the board that will determine the outcome on Friday night and Wales will fancy their chances of upsetting the team currently sitting on top of the table and seeking a first Grand Slam since 2010.
I can't see any good reason for Wayne Pivac to make any changes to the side that finished so strongly at Twickenham. The return to training of Alun Wyn Jones will have given everyone a boost, but is he really ready to start playing again at this level?
It is always never say never with ‘Big Al' and there might be a case for putting him on the bench if he feels he can put in an honest shift.
Just imagine the psychological impact he could have by merely walking into the dressing room and getting changed.
It was great to see Josh Navidi getting back onto the field for Cardiff at the weekend and it will be interesting to see if Pivac feels he is in the right shape to return to the international fold. Given the impact that Faletau had at Twickenham after just a couple of outings with Bath, the Wales coach might consider experience has a place over youthful exuberance in his back row.
There is no doubt the French will start as big favourites this week. It is going to be a huge Friday night in the Welsh capital and Shaun Edwards is going to be relishing another return to the venue he called home for so many years.
He won three Grand Slams and another title with Wales as a coach. Can we stop him going all the way with France?
