Since the XVIe century, the trip to Italy is a rite of passage, an essential stage in the training of artists. The same goes for rugby: any team with the ambition to shine in the Six Nations Tournament must succeed in its passage through Rome. Saturday February 6, the XV of France confirmed the progress observed for a year by scattering Italy (50-10) during the opening match of the 2021 Tournament.
It is not a masterpiece. To claim it, the opposition must have a different force than what the teammates of Luca Bigi proposed on Saturday. But the French remember that last year, the Transalpins had molested them at times, ending the meeting on their heels (35-22) – the smallest gap conceded by Italy in 2020. “We know that we might have been able to win the Tournament if we had played better against the Italians last year”, blew winger Gabin Villière. The Blues had finished second, on a point average.
From the first minutes of play, Charles Ollivon’s partners got in order to match. “There is no surprise. We know what to expect ”, had warned the captain. Aggressive in defense against offensive Italians but rough in front of the empty stands of the Olympic Stadium, the French have shown clinical effectiveness in the opposing camp. With each incursion, or almost, the Blues of an Antoine Dupont once again very inspired scooped points.
Very tender Italians
“We made a success of our first meeting and he allowed us to play, which we wanted”, greeted Fabien Galthié after the game. In parade mode behind the line. After Dylan Cretin (6e), Gaël Fickou (27e), Arthur Vincent (30e), Brice Dulin (49e), Antoine Dupont (53e) and Teddy Thomas (57e and 74e) flattened in the Italian in-goal, placing the XV of France well in the lead.
And the absence of several executives – Romain Ntamack and Virimi Vakatawa, in particular – did not seem to stop the mechanics of the Blues. Effective, Matthieu Jalibert took over at the opening in the absence of the Toulousain. And as during the Autumn Nations Cup, the depth of the French pool was seen on Saturday.
Trying to think of another adjective to describe Antoine Dupont which we haven’t already used … The scrum-half g… https://t.co/U90ZrE9mO8
If, for the artists of past centuries, the idea of the trip to Rome was to confront the masters of the Italian Renaissance, the Blues postponed the rebirth of the bambini de la Botte. Since 2015, and a success in Scotland, the Italians thread the disappointments: 28 defeats in a row now and five wooden spoons in a row. And it is not against this XV of France that the young Italian guard will obtain the reference match after which it runs. “This group really needs a victory to be able to express themselves at their best, second-row Niccolo Cannone warned ahead of the game. We are a very young group, with little experience. We still have to grow, work still. “
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