George North and Sam Warburton scored tries in each half at the Millennium Stadium and with full back Leigh Halfpenny booting 17 points, there was only ever going to be one winner.
The 27-6 defeat of Les Bleus has put Wales right back in the RBS 6 Nations title race following the defeat to Ireland in the second round of fixtures. That game saw the Welsh forwards have a bad day at the office but ahead of the clash with England in two weeks’ time, Cuthbert has praised them for bouncing back.
“We went in with a great mind-set and knew the start was crucial against a side like France,” said the Cardiff Blues winger.
“We couldn’t let them get their tails up and we got the scoreboard ticking over – that was what won us the game really.
“It wasn’t one of those games for wingers, I had to get involved and play my part. Fair play to the forwards, they were unbelievable and showed what they were made of. They’ve taken a bit of stick over the last couple of weeks but they did really well.”
Wales now face just short of two weeks until what will be a crucial meeting with England at Twickenham. The two sides, as well as France and Ireland, are all level on four points with three games played.
Cuthbert added: “We knew what we had to get right and now we have two more weeks of preparation for the England game.
“We had quite a bit of a lead from the first half – we needed to control it and keep the scoreboard ticking. I think we played the 80 minutes really well and didn’t let them score which is of great benefit to us.
“Winning helps, there’s a totally different atmosphere to last week. As a team there are little things we can improve on and we need to look at those.”
On the prospect of facing old rivals England, Cuthbert is hoping for a repeat result from the one and only time he’s played there for Wales.
“I’ve only played England at Twickenham once, we went there and scored in the last minute,” he said, referring to the Triple Crown securing victory of 2012.
“They will be gunning for us from last year, we know what to expect and it will be a big fight.
“We’ve had ups and downs but we’ve found our form and hopefully we can hit full flow against England. It will be one of the biggest games of the tournament so far.”
