With Alun Wyn Jones a late withdrawal with a foot infection, Scarlets man Ball was parachuted in at the last minute to partner Luke Charteris in the second row. Taking on French skipper Pascal Pape and Yoann Maestri, Ball more than matched his opponents, his abrasive performance one of a number of stand-out displays in the Wales pack.
Gethin Jenkins and captain Sam Warburton were also outstanding, the latter scoring a vital second half try to add to an early sixth minute score from centre George North. And after winning just his second Welsh cap, Ball said his first game at the home of Welsh rugby, which had been pre-emptied by a dramatic light show, had been a surreal occasion.
“I’m delighted to start and get a win,” he said. “The game was a lot quicker than regional level. It’s exactly what I want to be playing week in, week out.
“I can’t really explain the experience. I think my heart rate would have been 200 before I even got on the field. It was an amazing crowd – I’ve never played in front of anything like that with the noise and the passion.”
A newcomer to the Wales squad for this Six Nations campaign, Ball came off the bench in the defeat to Ireland in Dublin before starting against France. Qualified through his Welsh-born father, Ball moved to Australia at 16 to pursue his dream of being a fast bowler. But by his own admission – “I was probably a bit aggressive to play cricket” – Ball was not cut out for life in whites and quickly returned to the oval ball game with Western Force.
After moving to Parc y Scarlets, and spending time with Llanelli RFC, Ball has gone from relative obscurity to playing a vital role in this year’s RBS 6 Nations Championship. And following the 27-6 win over Philippe Saint Andre’s side, he reckons Wales are now back in with a shot of the title.
With two rounds to go, Warren Gatland’s men sit in third place but level on points with Ireland, England and France. Scotland remain two points behind with Italy bottom without a point to their name.
“I had a good idea I’d be playing when Alun’s foot swelled up and I had a bit of a bumpy sleep, waking up and thinking about rugby,” said Ball.
“I think the team deserve huge credit for bouncing back after the Ireland game. We really put a lot of emphasis on the front five and tackling their rolling maul. We knew they would come at us strong there and to deal with it first up was good. If we hadn’t had done that, they’d have just kept on coming.
“We’ll take a lot of confidence from that – there’s still a definite chance we can retain the title.”
