France vs Italy LIVE: Six Nations rugby result and reaction from Stade de France
Follow latest reaction from Stade de France after Les Blues opened their campaign with a win on Sunday afternoon
France began their bid for a first Six Nations title since 2010 with a 37-10 bonus-point win over Italy at a rain-soaked Stade de France on Sunday, as winger Gabin Villiere ran in a hat-trick.
The Azzurri, looking for a first Championship win since 2015 and their first ever victory in Paris, took a surprise lead when teenage debutant Tommaso Menoncello gathered a kick to finish in the corner.
France struck back with Anthony Jelonch and Villiere tries to take an eight-point lead into halftime.
Villiere weaved a path through the Italian defence to cross again after the break before Damian Penaud added the bonus-point score, and Villiere dived over for his third with the clock in the red.
France are level with Ireland on five points at the top of the table after the opening round, ahead of their meeting in Paris next Saturday.
Italy face England in Rome on Sunday, where both sides will be looking to respond to opening-day defeats after the English lost their opener in Scotland.
Farewell!
That just about does us for our coverage of France’s win over Italy. A winning start at home, but far sterner tests await, with Ireland in town next weekend for a meeting that may just decide the destination of this year’s Six Nations trophy.
We’ll have plenty of reaction to all of the weekend’s rugby over the next couple of days, and back next Saturday for a massive day of action, with Scotland and Wales the appetiser before a Saturday evening collision at the Stade de France.
Do join us for all of that, but for now, thank you for your company and stay safe and well.
France overcome slow start to ease to Six Nations win over Italy
France 37-10 Italy: Gabin Villiere grabbed a hat-trick as Les Bleus started their campaign with a win
On to Ireland
Jonathan Danty looked to be getting some strapping on his left ankle after his substitution in that second half, which will be something to monitor as France prepare for a massive meeting with Ireland at the Stade de France next week. Yoram Moefana is a very different player to the forthright 12, but did his chances no harm with an enterprising 20 minutes or so off the bench today; there may also be a recall for Virimi Vakatawa.
Given how well that Irish midfield functioned against Wales, France will have to get their combination right.
Michele Lamaro reflects on defeat in his first Six Nations game as Italy captain
“I think consistency changes the game in games like that. France is an awesome team. They created a lot, we were pretty good in defence and physically but we have to get consistency in the whole game.
“We faced them with all we had - that is all I can ask from the boys. There are still lots of things to work on.
Affording himself a smile as the interviewer suggests England might just be a little fired up after defeat to Scotland, Lamaro looks ahead to Italy’s next game: “What we did last week to prepare for France was not enough, otherwise we would have had a different result. Now it is important to keep creating something so we can perform better on the field.”
Stand-in France coach Raphael Ibanez is next for a natter
On the absent Fabien Galthie: “It wasn’t the best situation but we had to deal with it. I have spoken to him, we were in touch through the whole game.
“We were lacking in rugby, we hadn’t played together. Through the game, we played well - five points, five tries, that’s good.
“We need to step up. Discipline will be the key. We put a lot of emphasis on discipline and today we made a few mistakes, so we will address that with the boys. Ireland are not fourth in the world rankings for nothing - they deserve it. Their game yesterday was very good.”
Gabin Villiere’s hat-trick score
Gabin Villiere is an amazing story. He was a tiny scrum-half with limited prospects at Rouen five years ago, but hard work in the gym and on the training pitch saw him reinvented as an outside back, earning a call-up to the French Sevens side. Impressive performances on the circuit saw him procured by Toulon, and an international debut followed at the back-end of 2020. He was excellent today, a livewire threat throughout, and this was a simple run-in for his third score.
Credit to Italy
I think Italy will take a lot of positives from that. Again their defence looked strong for much of the first half, and they did not have the dramatic drop-off in intensity in the final quarter that has been a recurrent problem over the years. They didn’t create much with the ball, which will be a concern, but this is a performance to build from ahead of next week’s meeting with England.
Paul Willemse’s thoughts on France’s win
“We are quite happy with the result even though there are a few things to sort out. First game, first win, we are happy.
Work-ons? “Closing the play, finishing in the 22 and the discipline of our blitz - we’ll fix those in the week.
“Italy bring it on defence, they slowed are ball down and are really tough to play against. We’ll be sure to prepare accordingly [for Ireland].”
F/T: France 37-10 Italy
An opening bonus point victory was a must for France, and it was eventually delivered, but they were made to work for every minute of that game by a resilient Italy. Dank conditions did not help, though the French handling was generally good despite a greasy ball. They move to the top of the Six Nations table.
TRY! FRANCE 37-10 Italy (Gabin Villiere hat-trick try, 82 minutes)
And Villiere does have his third score! It’s more neat handling from France, Damian Penaud again showing the skills of his previous life in the centres as he lengthens the line, passing on to Yoram Moefana.
The replacement has had a very, very effective cameo, and shows plenty of cunning to leave the last defender in no-man’s land with a delayed alley-oop style pass that affords Villiere the time and space for a leap of glee for the corner. The first French hat-trick scorer in the Six Nations since Vincent Clerc.
Romain Ntamack adds the final coat of gloss having assumed duties from the tee, and his fine final strike closes the opening Six Nations weekend.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies