France, Feb. 16 -- On 5 February, Fabien Galthie's side thrashed Ireland 36-14 in Paris and on Sunday night they obliterated Wales 54-12 in Cardiff to take a four-point lead over Scotland in the competition for the six leading rugby unionsides in Europe.

"The Grand Slam is what we've been preparing for since the start of the tournament," said France skipper Antoine Dupont. "And that means winning all the matches. The competition won't be over until the last day," he added.

"You can see the intensity of all the matches and the best way to get to the end is to take one match at a time and arrive in a position where you can actually do the Grand Slam."

Since the inception of the Six Nations tournament in 2000, Wales and France have each w...