France Vs Italy: Hosts maintain Grand Slam hopes after late Jalibert blow
France recovered from a late selection setback to produce an emphatic win over Italy at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, keeping their Grand Slam hopes alive in the france vs italy Six Nations clash after Matthieu Jalibert was ruled out on the eve of the match.
France Vs Italy at Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Reigning champions France defeated Italy at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, an outcome that preserves their bid for a Grand Slam. Gael Drean scored on his Test debut to secure France's bonus-point fourth try before Emilien Gailleton finished the home side's fifth. Emmanuel Meafou was named player of the match, and fly-half Thomas Ramos also went over in the first half.
Jalibert ruled out forces reshuffle
The French rugby federation announced on match eve that Matthieu Jalibert would miss the encounter in Lille; he had been named to start the Six Nations clash at No 10 on Friday. Head coach Fabien Galthie reshuffled the back line: Toulon wing Gael Drean was drafted into the starting side, Theo Attissogbe was relocated to full-back and Thomas Ramos started at fly half.
Drean rewarded after strong Top 14 season
The inclusion of Drean followed several strong seasons in the Top 14. The 25-year-old has scored 12 tries in 15 appearances for Toulon this season, and he capped his call-up by scoring on Test debut to help France secure the bonus point.
Scorers, momentum and a reply from Capuozzo
Thomas Ramos and Emmanuel Meafou crossed in the first half, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored for the eighth successive Six Nations game. Italy responded before half-time when Ange Capuozzo replied after a France error, but the visitors were unable to close the gap as France added further tries in the second half.
Italy reactions and table implications
Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada, speaking to ITV, said: "I think in the first half we were 19-8 and we were 19-8 until the 70th minute. It was three lost balls and that is how they scored their points. It was just a matter of the second half having more quality ball, especially in lineouts where we know we can build opportunities. They didn't have a great game either. They finished big because of our mistakes at the end, we found ourselves with 13 on the field not 15. It's tough and we handled the situation really badly. One guy was down because of discipline and one was down which was completely our responsibility. "
Italy captain Michele Lamaro, speaking to ITV, added: "The scoreboard is always the truth of the game and we have to go with that. France were unbelievably good at taking their opportunities, especially in the first half. We couldn't build pressure in the second half and that took us to 70 minutes when we got the yellow card. First half we made a couple of errors and second half we couldn't keep the ball. In line-outs we had a couple of opportunities. You are playing one of the best teams in the world, you have to be precise, you have to be concrete and you have to be playing at a high level, there were moments where we had been there but there was a lot of moments where we went't able to perform and execute it enough".
France's defence coach Shaun Edwards, speaking to ITV, said: "That was a real tough game of rugby and as they say a real Test match. " The Azzurri stay fifth in the table - behind England on points difference.
What this means for France and what’s next
Matthieu Jalibert had starred in France's round one and two wins over Ireland and Wales, translating excellent form for Bordeaux Begles as he found his footing at international level in the absence of Romain Ntamack. Thomas Ramos has featured regularly at fly half for club and country in the past, having started at the position in last year’s win over Italy in Rome. France had drawn 13-all with Italy in Lille two years ago, when only a late Paolo Garbisi missed penalty denied the visitors victory.
Coach and player comments pointed to a tough contest and a clear finish for France on the day. Italy will regroup after the loss; France will move on with their campaign and supporters will watch how the reshuffled back line performs in the next fixture. "Can anyone stop them now? We shall see you all in a fortnight, " Quesada said, marking the next confirmed interval before the teams reconvene.
