CARDIFF -- Wales and France want to put things right on Friday. Whichever one does at Millennium Stadium will have a huge bearing on the Six Nations. Welsh ambitions of three straight championships are on thin ice. That strut in their stride that coach Warren Gatland said they should show off before the tournament has been replaced by a limp. After the 26-3 thrashing from Ireland for their worst Six Nations result in eight years, they face two consecutive defeats. That hasnt happened since 2010, when France last won in Cardiff, which also happened to be on a Friday night. "We need to react," said George North, who after 37 destructive caps on the wing will start at centre to answer an SOS by Wales. Having beating England and Italy in Paris, the French are on remarkable course to the title. But they are still ridding themselves of the bitter taste of 2013, their annus horribilis, when they were also last in the Six Nations. This year they are the leaders with Ireland with two wins from two matches, but the Tricolors have yet to play well for 40 minutes, let alone 80. They have fired only in spurts. "The squad has done enormously well to pick up two wins. We have to make the most of it," said No. 8 Louis Picamoles, the tournaments leading forward in metres made. Frances rising confidence has been crucially helped by coach Philippe Saint-Andres limited tinkering. Hes made four changes through three rounds. At the same point in 2013, hed made 10. Gatland kept his changes for this match to four, with only one in the pack where Wales was dominated in Dublin. The lack of game-time beforehand by the likes of props Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins, and captain Sam Warburton was exposed by the Irish, prompting Warburton and Jenkins to be released to play for their clubs last weekend. Rhys Webb played for Ospreys, and the display was good enough for him to be given his first test start in place of Mike Phillips, the 82-cap scrumhalf who has paid for his slow service and inattention. The Welsh regard the drubbing from Ireland as a one-off, one bad day at the office, even though they also had a bad half-day against Italy. Gatland was so disturbed by the effort that hes warned his team that test careers are on the line. "Hopefully, they will respond, because it is important for us in terms of not just this competition," Gatland said. "For a lot of those players theyve got to start thinking about the next 12 months and the World Cup, and if they dont play well on Friday night it could be the last time they will play for Wales. "Its an opportunity to get back on the horse." But Ireland gave France a blueprint to success. Dominate the lineouts and the breakdowns. Starve the Wales backline. Ireland scored tries from lineout mauls, and Wales lock Alun-Wyn Jones acknowledged theyre difficult to defend. "Once the ball is at the back of the maul, you cant get to it, pull it down, tackle it, sack it, once its moving," Jones said. "That is why it is such a weapon. "Its most definitely a case of stopping it at source. We didnt do that. "Any team that has coded us, taken a good look at us, is going to point to it as an opportunity. Its in the armoury of almost every team in the French league, and that is not going to change on Friday night." Wales just needs to be itself, walk with a strut, North said. "Its important to remember that we proved last year that defeat doesnt mean its all lost," North said. "We have a lot to play for." ------ Lineups: Wales: Leigh Halfpenny, Alex Cuthbert, George North, Jamie Roberts, Liam Williams, Rhys Priestland, Rhys Webb; Taulupe Faletau, Sam Warburton (captain), Dan Lydiate, Alun-Wyn Jones, Luke Charteris, Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard, Gethin Jenkins. Reserves: Ken Owens, Paul James, Rhodri Jones, Jake Ball, Justin Tipuric, Mike Phillips, Dan Biggar, James Hook. France: Brice Dulin, Yoann Huget, Mathieu Bastareaud, Wesley Fofana, Hugo Bonneval, Jules Plisson, Jean-Marc Doussain; Louis Picamoles, Wenceslas Lauret, Yannick Nyanga, Pascal Pape (captain), Yoann Maestri, Nicolas Mas, Dimitri Szarzewski, Thomas Domingo. Reserves: Brice Mach, Yannick Forestier, Vincent Debaty, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Damien Chouly, Maxime Machenaud, Remi Tales, Gael Fickou. Ross Stripling Dodgers Jersey . 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Enrique Hernandez Youth Jersey . Yet coming off consecutive series losses at St. Louis and Pittsburgh, Los Angeles needed some sort of spark as August approaches. The Dodgers found it in the ballpark of their biggest rival, and left the Bay Area in first place following an emphatic three-game swing.GUELPH, Ont. -- Brandon Banks says all he had to do was run -- 107 yards to the end zone -- to secure his Hamilton Tiger-Cats second spot in the CFL East and a home playoff berth. "All I had to do was catch the ball and run down the sideline," said Banks, who only signed with the team Sept. 30 after three seasons with the Washington Redskins. "It was the other 11 guys working their butts off getting me great blocks." When Montreal kicker Sean Whyte missed his 42-yard field goal short with little more than four minutes left in the game, Banks caught the ball and took it up the left sideline for the score and a 27-23 lead, the Ticats first of the game. That was Banks second of two fourth-quarter touchdowns as the Tiger-Cats came from behind to defeat the Montreal Alouettes 27-24 in front of 13,012 at the University of Guelphs Alumni Stadium on Saturday. The Ticats were down by as much as 16-0 in the second quarter before clawing their way back. Hamilton (9-8) has wrapped up second spot in the CFL East Division and will host the semifinal, against the Alouettes, on Nov. 10. Montreal falls to 7-10. S.J. Green, Geoff Tisdale and Duron Carter scored touchdowns for the Alouettes. C.J. Gable also scored for the Ticats. Hamilton kicker Luca Congi hit field goals from 22 and 25 yards. Montreal kicker Sean Whyte missed his two field-goal attempts, from 42 and 41 yards. "We got fortunate that they missed the field goal, right?" said Hamilton head coach Kent Austin. "Because they could have easily made the field goal. But you watch our guys effort in blocking downfield on that . . . Just great effort. Guys just playing to the whistle and playing hard." With his first completion of the game, Burris moved into fourth spot for CFL all-time career pass completions, ahead of Danny McManus (3,640). But that was the only bright spot in his numbers for the day, with zero touchdown passes and one interception that was returned 64-yards by Tisdale for the score. Rookie back-up Jeremiah Masoli threw one TD pass for Hamilton. Burris shared the field with both his back-ups this game, with Masoli being used for the ground game, especially to eat up the clock near the end. Austin said he decided to use a wildcat offence against the Als on his way back from Montreal last week, when the Ticats had lost 36-5, and that he knew Masoli was comfortable with running it from his college days. Masoli said having that responsibility was fun. "I had total confidence in myself because I had confidence in everybody else," he said. Montreals quarterback Troy Smith, making his second start of the season, threw two TD passes and two interceptions. The Ticats were down 23-10 early in the fourth and the Alouettes were driving when Hamilton linebacker Simoni Lawrence intercepted Smith at the Montreal 51 and ran it to the 45. On the next play, Banks took the hand-off and turned upfield for a 45-yard TD run annd the Ticats found themselves down just 23-17 with almost 12 minutes left in the game.dddddddddddd A 25-yard field goal by Congi with 8:08 left made it 23-20. When Whyte missed his 42-yard field goal attempt short due to a high snap, the ball was caught by Banks and run up the left sideline 107 yards for the TD and a 27-23 Hamilton lead. Whyte said after the game that the ball wasnt on the tee properly when he kicked it. He said he didnt see Banks return the kick. He could only hear the crowds reaction. "I was hit after the kick so I dont know why we didnt get the ball back," Whyte said. Whyte later missed his second field-goal attempt for a single and the lead was cut to 27-24 with a little more than two minutes left. When Austin was told of Whytes comments, he responded that he also had issues: "We can sit here til midnight if you want to play that game." The Alouettes got the ball back on their own 17 with 18 seconds left in the game, but they couldnt make anything of it. Smith and Montreal struck first, midway through the first quarter when he hit Green for a 55-yard gain to set up the Als at the Hamilton 14-yard line. Two plays later, Smith again hit Green, who turned and stretched his arms out for the TD and a 7-0 lead. A couple series later, after it looked like the Ticats were moving the ball, a Burris throw landed in the hands of Montreals Tisdale after intended receiver Brandon Banks missed a route. Tisdale returned it 64 yards for the score and a 14-0 lead. It could have been worse, if not for two Alouettes turnovers deep in Ticat territory. It looked like they were going to open up a huge lead when they opened the second quarter with a 51-yard drive that ate up 5:27 on the clock and had the ball at the Hamilton 25. But it came to a halt when Duron Carter batted the ball up in the air and it was intercepted by Hamilton defensive back Rico Murray at the Hamilton 15. Still, that play failed to change the momentum as the Ticats went two-and-out and the snap went over punter Josh Bartels head and into the end zone, forcing him to kick it out and concede the safety. Montreal threatened again, moving the ball to the Hamilton 21 before Bo Bowling fumbled the ball at the 11 and Hamiltons Brandon Isaac recovered. The Ticats finally got on the board with 1:05 left in the half when a 71-yard drive stalled and ended with a 22-yard field goal. It was the sixth straight quarter, going back to last weeks Montreal win, in which the Als had kept Hamilton out of the end zone. That changed with the Ticats first possession of the third. Hamilton drove 72 yards in seven plays using the quarterback tandem of Burris and Masoli. It was Masoli who lofted the ball to Gable for the 12-yard TD midway through the quarter as the Ticats pulled to 16-10. Smith and the Als answered immediately with a 79-yard drive culminating with a 63-yard catch-and-run TD from Smith to Carter and a 23-10 lead. ' ' '