GIVEN the amount of debate about where the current Welsh crop stand alongside the greats from the seventies it seems that some have already taken a third Grand Slam in seven years as a given.

The downbeat faces of the England team as they trooped from pitch at the Aviva Stadium 12 months ago, or those of Ieuan Evans’ side at Twickenham in 1994, provide the evidence of it not being that simple.

France have already been written off in some quarters, cannon fodder on the march to another clean sweep. Get printing the Grand Slam t-shirts, mugs and limited edition plates.

But be wary of counting votre poulets.

It is true that the conversion rate for Grand Slams has been remarkable of late – there have been seven since 2002 and England’s fall at the last hurdle in 2011 is the only one.

But don’t rule out the possibility of skipper Sam Warburton having to politely smile while lifting the Six Nations trophy like a beaten Oscars nominee.

This is a French side that reached the World Cup final and could easily have been heading to Cardiff with the Webb Ellis trophy safely locked up in their Parisian trophy cabinet.

Look down the teamsheet and you see the formidable names of Thierry Dusautoir, Imanol Harinordoquy, Williams Servat, Florian Fritz and, gulp, Dimitri Yachvili.

Plenty of Welsh shoulders would have slumped when coach Philippe Saint-Andre named the Biarritz master tactician at scrum-half. Such nerveless figures are priceless in tight games, as today will surely be.

Warren Gatland’s side are favourites and rightly so because they have home advantage and have shown that they are a side that can play with panache but also win ugly.

However, 13 of the matchday squad that will head out of the home changing room, turn right then left and trot out of the Millennium Stadium tunnel will be in new territory.

They will be chasing their first Grand Slam and those young guns will be served well by the experiences of Twickenham three weeks ago.

It was far from a polished performance when they went toe to toe with England; they were forced to dig deep and grind it out. With the Triple Crown on the line a number of them froze.

“Maybe the occasion got to some of our younger players,” admitted coach Warren Gatland after the game.

“But we showed signs of great composure and character, that’s a sign of a team which will get better in time.”

Not much time has passed – they’ve only played Italy on the Test scene since the New Zealander uttered those words – but they cannot afford to allow what will be an emotion-filled atmosphere to get to them.

There is always passionate backing from the Millennium Stadium stands but the death of Mervyn Davies will no doubt mean teary eyes and extra volume to the singing.

“All of the boys have now played in a high-stakes game,” said back row forward Ryan Jones this week. “I think you have to draw on that.

“Essentially, this is just another game. If you take it in isolation it’s about getting a result. Do that and the Grand Slam will take care of itself.”

A pattern has emerged throughout the tournament when it comes to Wales – they start well but fail to convert their chances and then they put their foot down in the second half.

Of the 93 points that they have scored, 70 have come after the break. Of the nine tries they have scored, eight have come after the break.

However, last weekend’s clash with Italy showed how a yellow card can stall momentum, Leigh Halfpenny’s sin-binning denying them the chance to rack up the points.

And while on the number-crunching, the figure 16 is one that defence coach Shaun Edwards will be hammering into his charges.

Keep France to that number of points or below and Wales will have conceded fewer than they did in the 2008 clean sweep.

That will be easier said than done against a France side that possess plenty of ball carriers and the left peg of Yachvili.

It promises to be an uncompromising encounter with brutal collisions and plenty of ball in the air (Wales will be determined to test the nerve of shaky full-back Clement Poitrenaud under the high ball and move the French back three around).

If it does prove to be a nail-biter then the omens are good for Wales.

They found a way to win in Dublin and London while France failed to do so twice in Paris, running the ball out of play when the scores were level against Ireland and botching their attempt at a match-winning drop goal against England.

There was a tense finale last time there was a Grand Slam in Cardiff.

On that occasion there was Irish delight when Stephen Jones’ penalty fell short.

Expect another game that is in the balance at the death.