France Vs Italy: Jalibert ruled out as hosts maintain Grand Slam bid

France entered the france vs italy fixture in Lille without fly half Matthieu Jalibert after the French rugby federation (FFR) announced on match eve that he would miss the game. France went on to maintain their Grand Slam hopes with an emphatic win at Stade Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Lille.

Pre-match blow and reshuffle

Jalibert had been named to start the Six Nations clash at No 10 on Friday, but the FFR confirmed his late withdrawal on match eve. His absence forced a reshuffle by Fabien Galthie: Toulon wing Gael Drean was moved into the starting side, Theo Attissogbe was relocated to full-back and Thomas Ramos was named to start at fly half.

Selection context and recent form

Jalibert had starred for France in their 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. Ramos has featured regularly at fly half for club and country in the past, including starting in last year’s win over Italy in Rome.

France Vs Italy match changes

Gael Drean’s inclusion was earned after several strong seasons in the Top 14; the 25-year-old had scored 12 tries in 15 appearances for Toulon that season. Drean scored on Test debut in Lille, securing what was described as France’s bonus-point fourth try before Emilien Gailleton added the home side’s fifth.

Scorers, debut and first-half action

Player of the match Emmanuel Meafou and fly-half Thomas Ramos both went over in the first half. Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored for an eighth successive Six Nations game. Ange Capuozzo replied for Italy after a France error as the visitors hit back before half-time.

Reactions and table implications

Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada 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 reflected on the scoreboard: "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 said: "That was a real tough game of rugby and as they say a real Test match. "

The Azzurri remain fifth in the table, behind England on points difference.

Past Lille meeting recalled

France had reason to be mindful of previous meetings in Lille: the two sides drew 13-all there two years ago, with only a late Paolo Garbisi missed penalty denying the visitors victory on that occasion.

France’s late selection change and the performances from Drean, Meafou, Ramos, Gailleton and Bielle-Biarrey combined to preserve the hosts’ Grand Slam hopes following the france vs italy match in Lille.