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The French rugby team painfully won Sunday in Rome against Italy 29-24 for its entry into the running in the Six Nations Tournament, of which it is the defending champion. The Blues, very undisciplined, suffered, but still won the offensive bonus point before the perilous trip that awaited them in Dublin next weekend against Ireland.
« There is nothing to jump around after this victory. We were too undisciplined, we have to shoot more than twenty penalties (18 whistled against France in fact, editor’s note), we know very well that at this level it is not playable and that we will have to quickly rectify the shot. (…) We will try to be positive, but obviously today there are a lot more negatives than positives. “Antoine Dupont, scrum half of the XV of France, did not go there with the back of my spoon to qualify the performance of his people.
The XV of France, launching defending his title in the Six Nations Tournament, indeed lived, Sunday February 5, a complicated afternoon in Rome, winning painfully against Italy (29-24) and displaying a worrying indiscipline.
Sanctioned 18 times by the referee, the Blues, winners of the Grand Slam last year, were hardly reassured. Especially since their next opponent, Ireland, the first nation in the World Rugby rankings, impressed him on Saturday in Cardiff against Wales (34-10).
Unprecedented series in the history of French rugby
With five points, the Blues are in first place in the general classification of the tournament, tied with Ireland and Scotland, victorious over England on Saturday at Twickenham (29-23).
In search of a double after the Grand Slam won in 2022, and as “their” World Cup looms in the fall (September 8-October 28), we cannot say that the French have convinced at the Stadio Olimpico .
This lackluster success nevertheless allowed Fabien Galthié’s men to chain a fourteenth victory in a row, stretching an unprecedented series in the history of French rugby, and a thirteenth victory in a row against Italy.
The inevitable Capuozzo
Italy, in the wake of a year 2022 marked by two great victories, against Cardiff in the Tournament last spring (22-21) and over Australia (28-27) in the fall, has not not undeserved, scoring a try by the back Ange Capuozzo and recovering the defensive bonus point.
From the first period, concern was on the French side.
If the Blues managed to flatten three times, opening their counter by Thibaud Flament on interception from the 5th minute, the Italians, taking advantage of French indiscipline (nine penalties conceded against only two, transalpine side), stuck to the score thanks at the foot of Tommaso Allan and a try from the inevitable Capuozzo.
Not everything is to be thrown away on the French side either, with in particular a powerful and precise footwork from Romain Ntamack, at the origin of the second and third tries, concretized respectively by the back Thomas Ramos and the Lyon winger Ethan Dumortier , who thus signs his first try for his first selection (6-19, 26th).
Worry…
From the start of the second period, on a penalty touch in the French five meters, while the Italians stormed the line, Charles Ollivon made a mistake and logically received a yellow card, accompanied by a penalty try , as promised by the referee: and here is Italy at one point (21-22, 51st).
While France is outnumbered, and after a penalty missed by Ramos, Italy passes for the first time following yet another penalty, thanks to the foot of the metronome Tommaso Allan (24-22 in the 62nd) .
While concern begins to close the faces on the French bench, Matthieu Jalibert, barely entering the meadow to replace Ntamack, manages to flatten in force, giving a definitive advantage to the French (24-29, 69th).
(With AFP)