Yes, illegal tackle and red card deserved according to the commission board of the IRB which has presented the referees with explicit instructions on these tackles. Regardless of the fact there was no drive into the ground, Clerc was lifted beyond the horizontal and the tackling player made no attempt to safely bring him to ground.
Doesn't matter. The game was destroyed by a mistake with no malicious intent. That Wales managed to play so well even though their set pieces were destroyed, with France capitalising on the scrum and line-out deficits, speaks volumes for the players who remained. 14 men can't beat 15 when all else is equal. 7.5 men can't beat 8 in the scrum. A reduced line-out invites the opposition to challenge your limited options. Still S Jones should have converted the try, and Halfpenny was agonisingly short on the penalty. But had either of those gone over surely the French would have thrown everything and the évier into the last few minutes. As it was they held the Welsh at the 10yard line making a drop impossible and their discipline was superb. And the extra man really told.
We'll never know what would have happened. All we can be sure of is that the trophy is staying in the Southern hemisphere. Still, I will be supporting the French. I just don't see them having any chance at all. None at all.
