Two tries from former France captain Lionel Nallet inspired the French to a 28-9 victory over Wales in their final Six Nations match at the Stade de France on Saturday.

The win will have gone some way to repairing the damage done by the historic defeat to Italy last weekend.

Nallet's tries and one from livewire winger Vincent Clerc, plus 13 points from the boot of Morgan Parra were more than enough to erase any hopes the Welsh might have had of taking the title with a large win.

That honour falls to England despite their loss to Ireland meaning they miss out on the Grand Slam.

The Welsh points came from three penalties by James Hook, whose controversial yellow card in the second-half all but ended it as a contest.

Hook stroked over a superb penalty from wide out on the right in the second minute after the Welsh backrow led by dynamic flanker Sam Warburton had made huge inroads into French territory.

The admirable Parra levelled the match five minutes later after a Welsh infringement as the French scrum tried to assert its authority and Hook missed an opportunity to restore the visitors' lead shortly afterwards.

However, the Welsh suffered a blow as at the same time as Hook was missing his penalty, Warburton had to go off with a left knee injury and be replaced by Jonathan Thomas.

The French were gradually building up steam but ruined their best move of the match when after piercing the Welsh defence through centre David Marty after a great run by Clerc on the right wing they conceded a penalty.

Parra gave France the lead in the 26th minute with a crisply taken penalty for a Welsh player not releasing the ball, as the match continued to lack the spark to get the crowd excited.

That almost arrived in the 32nd minute when quick hands down the Welsh backs on the blindside saw Leigh Halfpenny free down the right wing, but with a clear run to the line beckoning he was brought to ground by a stunning tap tackle by Francois Trinh-Duc.

The spark in the end came from an unlikely source as Nallet benefited from a Welsh turnover after Lee Byrne had lost the ball, and the lock picked the ball up well outside the visitors 22.

However, showing amazing turn of foot for a 34-year-old second row forward he sold a Welsh defender on a delightful dummy before managing with his momentum, as he crossed for his seventh try in 62 tests.

Hook reduced the deficit shortly after the break with a penalty but his blocked clearance by Julien Pierre paved the way for Nallet to score his and the hosts second try of the match for a 18-6 lead.

Hook added a penalty to keep the Welsh in the hunt for at least victory if not the title but the French were scenting blood and going for the kill as they shrugged off the shackles of last Saturday's defeat.

Parra added a penalty shortly afterwards to make it 21-9 and the visitors hopes of staying in contention all but evaporated in the 56th minute when Hook was harshly sin-binned for what was deemed a dangerous tackle.

That loss was rammed home almost straight away as a delightful chip behind the Welsh defence saw Clerc run on and gather and touch down for his second try in two matches.

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