THE Wales management team being baffled by some of the criticism about the manner of their victory against France is almost as worrying as the rather stodgy style in which Les Bleus were beaten.

Any Test victory is hard-earned and a fifth success on the spin against the French is an excellent achievement, especially as victories were so hard to come by in the 1980s.

“I’m not going to lie, it was a funny feeling after the game, when you hear some of the stuff that’s going on,” said kicking coach Neil Jenkins, who lost eight of 13 meetings with France, including a 51-0 Wembley drubbing in 1998.

“We had just won a Test match and beaten France. I don’t quite get it. Five times on the bounce as well.

“I think France would like a little bit of what we’ve got, I am sure of that. We have won a couple of championships and we were unlucky not to win it last year.

“It is a bit baffling really, but there we are, it is Wales isn’t it? It does happen.”

But it’s because of what this current crop of Wales has achieved that means criticism is coming their way – sorry boys, you’ve set the bar high and are victims of your own success.

We have seen what Sam Warburton & Co have achieved in recent seasons and believe they are capable of even more.

They have succeeded in enjoying wonderful results in European competition and the next step for such a talented crop is to claim some southern hemisphere scalps.

There are quality players in that side – Alun Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau, Warburton, Dan Biggar, Jonathan Davies, George North – and success against the Springboks, Aussies and even New Zealand should be the aim.

That will come from demanding much more than they produced against France. It has been proven that the blueprint for Six Nations success simply doesn’t work against the big three.

This isn’t whinging or putting down what they achieved with a tenacious display against Les Bleus, any victory must be cherished.

But recognising limitations and demanding more is essential if this generation of talent is to avoid looking back with a tinge of regret in a decade.