No. | Name | |
---|---|---|
15Maxime MĂ©dard, - | ||
14Hugo Bonneval, - | ||
13Gael Fickou, - | ||
12Jonathan Danty, - | ||
11Virimi Vakatawa, - | ||
10Jules Plisson, - 2 | ||
9Sebastien Bezy, - | ||
1Eddy Ben Arous, - | ||
2Guilhem Guirado, - | ||
3Rabah Slimani, - | ||
4Paul Jedrasiak, - | ||
5Yoann Maestri, - | ||
6Damien Chouly, - | ||
7Wenceslas Lauret, - | ||
8Louis Picamoles, - | ||
Replacements | ||
16Camille Chat, - | ||
17Uini Atonio, - | ||
18Jefferson Poirot, - | ||
19Alexandre Flanquart, - | ||
20Yacouba Camara, - | ||
21Maxime Machenaud, - | ||
22Jean-Marc Doussain, - | ||
23Maxime Mermoz, - |
*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold
Match Commentary
Jules Plisson will be the toast of Paris tonight. After a second-half as erratic as the first, it looked as though Italy might snatch a famous victory and ruin new France coach Guy Noves' day, but then up stepped the Stade Francais fly-half to boot a monster penalty from the right touchline. That sealed the win for France, but it will have done little to mask a drab performance from Les Bleus. They looked detached all afternoon, with debutant wing Virimi Vakatawa their only real bright spark. Italy held their discipline after the break and probably deserved victory, but it wasn't a great spectacle in the French capital.
But he's missed and it's all over! You can't help but feel sorry for him as he longs on bleakly as the whistle is blown. Italy have been great, but the lack of communication and concentration at times has cost them.
Now, a break for the Italian's who have worked it into drop goal range but they can find their kicker? They've -- quite bizarrely -- opted to go to the right flank.
Commentator's curse! Poor communication from Italy, and once again their lapse in concentration has cost them. Vakatawa's superb break and ball carry is finished off excellently by Bonneval.
Parisse very nearly makes the try line but a great tackle from Guirado keeps him out. However, Canna is there to ensure the ball goes over. Parisse and Canna dominating with the ball in hand, and the latter has the kick again.
"The Stade de France is probably a fifth empty and, to be honest, the fans that have stayed away haven't missed a classic so far. Both sides feature four debutants each, so both are forgiven for a few nerves in this Six Nations opener, but the quality has been poor. Italy could have had an extra brace of tries via Leonardo Sarto had the ball bounced more kindly, but they've left points out there after some wayward kicking by fly-half Carlo Canna. France have followed suit, with scrum-half Sebastian Bezy off target from the tee, but 7s newboy Virimi Vakatawa looks lively on the wing and was deserving of his first international try at the XV-a-side game."
...which is won by Parisse again and they're looking to get this driving maul going.
Another slip in concentration has cost Italy. Chouly is found wide on the right flank and it's a fairly easy try as he navigates just the one incoming tackler. Sergio Parisse's digging into his teammates for that. It's also worth noting that Bezy has missed his third kick -- this could cost them.
Another Italian lineout, but this time it results in their first try, and to be fair, it's been coming. Sergio Parisse places down the try from the subsequent rolling maul. Kick is missed, however.
...and he's missed it. To be fair, it was quite a way out, probably 40 yards.
Well, I can't remember exactly how long it took for the first drop goal in the World Cup, but it was several games! This time out, it's taken just eight minutes for Canna to find the first three points.
Well, history suggests we're in for a bit of one sided affair this afternoon.
France dominated the Azzurri in 2015, beating them 29-0 in the Six Nations before romping to another 32-10 win in the World Cup.
However, Italy welcome back talisman Sergio Parisse from injury, and as we saw in the World Cup when he battled Ireland, they're a much bigger beast when he's in the side.
FRANCE XV: Medard, Bonneval, Fickou, Danty, Vakatawa, Plisson, Bezy; Ben Arous, Guirado (c), Slimani, Jedrasiak, Maestri, Chouly, Lauret, Picamoles
Replacements: Chat, Atonio, Poirot, Flanquart, Camara, Machenaud, Doussain, Mermoz
ITALY XV: Odiete, L Sarto, Campagnaro, Garcia, Bellini, Canna, Gori; Lovotti, Gega, Cittadini, Biagi, Fuser, Minto, Zanni, Parisse (c)
Replacements: Giazzon, Zanusso, Castrogiovanni, Bernarbo, van Schalkwyk, Palazzani, Haimona, McLean
You can follow our man on the ground, Tristan Barclay (@tbarclayESPN), who'll be giving us his live updates straight from the Stade de France. His preview can be read HERE.
And, if you're still thirsty for more rugby...