Are the players simply not up to it? Is it the coach? Is it the entire approach? The answer is a mix of the three. 

Some of the players are excellent but some are either below the level or just not suitable for the position they are playing in. The most obvious player out of place is the centre Bastareaud. He is a good player but not a "centre". He is a forward in stature and thinking, and should either be in the front row or at blind-side wing forward. Why coach Philippe Saint-André (known as PSA for short) insists on playing him at centre owes much to a lingering fancy in French rugby decisionmaking circles that power and crunch in midfield were lacking in previous French teams and that the reason why the All Blacks and South Africa do well is to do with power in the backs. However, the track record shows  that France does far better when it favours speed over brawn in the backs. And anyway, speed and skill are hallmarks of southern hemisphere backlines too. 

On the coaching side, one thing for France to eradicate is the systematic unchangeable alter of the Game Plan. It reminds me of those dirigiste economic plans France used to put in place; all very well for the economy, and may help draw the big picture strategy for a rugby encounter, but flexibility and reactive coaching are also needed on the rugby pitch too. For instance, in every game this season the thinking seems to be that the scrum half should be replaced 15-20 mins into 2nd half, whatever happens. This time against Wales the talented Parra, who held the line, created chances and attacked, is taken off and replaced by a much more conservative scrum half. That's plain disruption. Little wonder the Welsh try followed soon afterwards. Had PSA resisted that substitution and allowed Parra to continue doing what he was doiing, maybe momentum would not have been lost. Pity; PSA was such a natural player, instinctive, played alongside great improvisers, but as coach seems incapable of responding creatively to changing circumstances on the pitch. He seems governed by his Plan.

The third issue is approach. France entertained the world with its flair rugby for years, but they did not win world cups. The French establishment blamed flair, and decided that a more mechanical, power-driven style would pay dividends. It didn't. Not only are the French not suited to this style, but they underestimated how much rugby relies on speed and skill too. French ballhandling used to be mesmerising, but not any more.