France 33-8 Italy
Date:
Venue: Decathlon Arena, Lille
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Attendance: 48,544
France v Italy Match Reports
France continued the defence of their Six Nations title with a convincing 33-8 bonus-point victory over Italy in Lille. The hosts made a fast start as Louis Bielle-Biarrey struck in the fourth minute, with Emmanuel Meafou and Thomas Ramos adding further tries. Ange Capuozzo responded for Italy and Paolo Garbisi added a penalty to reduce France's lead to 19-8 at half-time. After the break, Italy remained in contention until the final ten minutes, when France finally broke through. Gael Drean secured the bonus point with a fourth try, before Emilien Gailleton added a fifth soon after to complete a comprehensive win. A selection of match reports is listed below:
- Six Nations Guide: France overcome spirited Italy to secure bonus-point win in Lille
- BBC: France maintain Grand Slam dream with Italy win
- Guardian: Bielle-Biarrey and France power past Italy to keep Six Nations grand slam plans on track
- Telegraph: France come through stern Italy test to stay on course for Grand Slam
- Sky Sports: France hold off Italy to maintain Six Nations Grand Slam bid
France v Italy - Match Highlights
France v Italy - Match Stats
France (19) 33
Try: Bielle-Biarrey (4'), Meafou (15'), Ramos (29'), Drean (71'), Gailleton (77')
Conversion: Ramos (5', 30', 72', 78')
Italy (8) 8
Try: Capuozzo (32')
Penalty: P Garbisi (40')
Man of the match: Emmanuel Meafou (France)
France v Italy - Team Line-ups
France Team Line-up
Forwards
- 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
- 2 Julien Marchand
- 3 Dorian Aldegheri
- 4 Thibaud Flament
- 5 Emmanuel Meafou
- 6 François Cros
- 7 Oscar Jegou
- 8 Anthony Jelonch
Backs
- 9 Antoine Dupont (Captain)
- 10 Thomas Ramos
- 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey
- 12 Fabien Brau-Boirie
- 13 Émilien Gailleton
- 14 Gaël Dréan
- 15 Théo Attissogbe
Replacements
- 16 Peato Mauvaka
- 17 Rodrigue Neti
- 18 Georges-Henri Colombe
- 19 Charles Ollivon
- 20 Mickaël Guillard
- 21 Lenni Nouchi
- 22 Baptiste Serin
- 23 Pierre-Louis Barassi
Italy Team Line-up
Forwards
- 1 Danilo Fischetti
- 2 Giacomo Nicotera
- 3 Simone Ferrari
- 4 Niccolò Cannone
- 5 Andrea Zambonin
- 6 Michele Lamaro (Captain)
- 7 Manuel Zuliani
- 8 Lorenzo Cannone
Backs
- 9 Alessandro Fusco
- 10 Paolo Garbisi
- 11 Monty Ioane
- 12 Leonardo Marin
- 13 Tommaso Menoncello
- 14 Louis Lynagh
- 15 Ange Capuozzo
Replacements
- 16 Pablo Dimcheff
- 17 Mirco Spagnolo
- 18 Giosuè Zilocchi
- 19 Federico Ruzza
- 20 Riccardo Favretto
- 21 David Odiase
- 22 Alessandro Garbisi
- 23 Paolo Odogwu