France v Italy preview: Les Bleus to continue Six Nations improvement with solid win over Azzurri

Round Three’s Six Nations action will come to a conclusion at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, where France will be hoping to continue their recent dominance against Italy.

Les Bleus have not made the best of starts to this season’s Six Nations campaign as they started off with a forgetful showing en route to a 38-17 defeat to Ireland in their Championship opener in Marseille before holding on for a narrow 20-16 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield.

They were somewhat lucky to come away as victors in the latter result as the match finished in controversial circumstances. Scotland‘s replacement second-row Sam Skinner thought he had grounded the ball on the try-line to secure a famous win for the home side, but the match officials decided against awarding them what would have been the game-winning try.

Despite that triumph, head coach Fabien Galthie has been under pressure after their quarter-final elimination at last year’s World Cup and the subsequent home loss to Ireland.

And nothing less than a convincing victory over the Azzurri will appease Les Bleus‘ supporters. That is easier said than done, however, as they face an Italy side who showed glimpses of improvement – after another forgetful World Cup campaign – under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada, during a narrow 27-24 loss to England in Rome in their Six Nations opener.

However, all the good work from that clash came apart at the seams in their next match against Ireland when they failed to fire a shot in a 36-0 defeat in Dublin.

These two countries will be competing for the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy and France have dominated the fixture as they have won 45 out of the 48 previous encounters between these teams with Italy victorious on three occasions.

The last of those Azzurri triumphs was way back in 2013 in Rome and they have subsequently lost the next 14 Tests against Les Bleus – a statistic which they will be desperate to change on Sunday.

Where the game will be won

There are several key areas which will be crucial in the bigger scheme of things, with the forward play – particularly the set-pieces and breakdown battle – due to have a huge impact in this game’s outcome. Coming into this year’s Championship, Les Bleus have been amongst the best in the business up front but they hardly convinced in that department in their previous matches against Ireland and Scotland. Likewise, Italy have not set the world alight in their encounters against England and especially against Ireland, where they struggled throughout.

Both teams have the ability to wreak havoc with ball in hand, though, with the Azzurri renowned for their enterprising play – a tactic which they adopted under the guidance of their former boss Kieran Crowley and have continued with under new coach Quesada – and they will be hopeful of stretching Les Bleus’ defence. However, France’s defensive system under Shaun Edwards has been amongst the best in the business for some time, and after an off day against Ireland, where they conceded a whopping five tries, they were close to their best against Scotland with Ben White scoring the Scots’ only try. Defence could be the defining factor in this game’s outcome and Italy will have to show considerable improvement in that area if they want to cause an upset.

Last time they met

What they said

Although Les Bleus have held the upper hand over the Azzurri in this fixture over the year, Galthie is wary of their opponents who he believes can cause an upset.

“They will want to produce their best rugby,” he said. “But so will we. No team is more demanding than we are.”

Meanwhile, Azzurri head coach Quesada is keen for his team to start afresh after those earlier losses to England and Ireland.

“Every game is a new opportunity to continue on the path of growth. We know how the last match went and it was useful to work on certain areas of the game,” he said.

“We want to show the best version of ourselves. We have heart, character and determination. All these characteristics must be put on the field against a team that is tactically and physically strong.”

Players to watch

He might be just 19 years old but Posolo Tuilagi plays with a maturity beyond his years and he will be hoping to continue his impressive play in his first start at international level. The behemoth second-row is the son of former Samoa number eight Henry and the nephew of star England centre Manu and, while those are tough acts to follow, he has shown plenty of promise with energetic cameos off the bench against Ireland and Scotland. He will be hoping to continue with an even better performance against Italy.

Meanwhile, an injury to captain and first choice number eight Gregory Alldritt means François Cros shifts from his regular position on the flank to the base of the scrum. Cros is renowned for his excellent groundwork and, while that aspect of his game will still be important, his defensive work and ball carrying skills will also be crucial – especially the latter which will be expected to give his team much needed momentum on attack.

Meanwhile, there will be plenty of pressure on rookie back-row duo Ross Vintcent and Riccardo Favretto, who are both set to play in only their second internationals. They have big boots to fill as they come into the Azzurri’s run-on side at number eight and on the blindside flank respectively. Those slots are usually filled by Lorenzo Cannone and Sebastian Negri, who have both been sidelined with injuries. Exeter Chief Vintcent made his Test debut off the bench against Ireland while Benetton’s Favretto, who usually plays at lock, played his only previous game for Italy in the 2021 Six Nations. The rookie duo will have to be at their best from the outset – in tandem with captain Michele Lamaro – if Italy want to stun the hosts.

Main head-to-head

Although two full-backs seldom come into direct contact with each other in most games, the battle between France’s Thomas Ramos and Italy’s Ange Capuozzo pits two of the game’s best number 15s against each other. Both are outstanding attackers who are capable of changing the course of a match with a moment of brilliance.

Ramos also has the ability to influence a game with his kicking ability – at goal and out of hand – and will be expected to put his side on the front foot with big clearance kicks from the back as well as accurate goal-kicking to keep the scoreboard ticking for Les Bleus. Although Capuozzo does not pose a threat off the kicking tee, he certainly does with ball in hand and will be keen to test France’s defence. Adding spice to this duel is the fact that Ramos and Capuozzo ply their trade together at Toulouse in the Top 14. Ramos is the first choice number 15 there with Capuozzo mostly shifted to the wing or demoted to the bench and will want to show his club selectors that he should be in their starting XV in his preferred position at the back.

Prediction

France are yet to scale the heights they reached in the build-up to last year’s World Cup on home soil but they will approach this game with plenty of confidence against the Azzurri, who are perennial also-rans in the Six Nations. Although we expect the Azzurri to improve on their performance against Ireland, they will not be able to match Les Bleus for a full 80 minutes and the hosts should pull away in the final quarter. France to win by 20 points.

Previous results

2023: France won 60-7 in Lyon
2023: France won 29-24 in Rome
2022: France won 37-10 in Paris
2021: France won 50-10 in Rome
2020: France won 36-5 in Paris
2020: France won 35-22 in Paris
2019: France won 47-19 in Paris
2019: France won 25-14 in Rome

The teams

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Matthis Lebel, 10 Matthieu Jalibert, 9 Maxime Lucu, 8 François Cros, 7 Charles Ollivon (c), 6 Paul Boudehent, 5 Posolo Tuilagi, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Julien Marchand, 17 Sebastien Taofifenua, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Alexandre Roumat, 21 Esteban Abadie, 22 Nolann Le Garrec, 23 Yoram Moefana

Italy: 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Federico Mori, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Riccardo Favretto, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Giosuè Zilocchi, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Andrea Zambonin, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Stephen Varney, 23 Leonardo Marin

Date: Sunday, February 25
Venue: Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille
Kick-off: 16:00 local (15:00 GMT)
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Ian Tempest (England)

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