Rowlands welcomes some fans not giving Wales much of a hope against a French side which welcomes back world-class half-backs Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.

"Perfect. I think that's the perfect place for us," he said, "just go there with little expectation.

"There is only one way out, one way up."

Wales are on a run of 12 consecutive Test losses, but are boosted by the return of experienced players like Liam Williams and Josh Adams for this year's championship.

Rowlands admits it has been a difficult 12 months of development.

"We didn't see the results of that as we wanted to in the autumn, and hopefully there have been some lessons taken and we'll be judged ultimately by the results in the Six Nations," he said.

"I think everyone is confident that we can put together some performances at the very least, that will give a lot of confidence and some inspiration going forward."