At the Breakdown: France v Italy
by Matthew Parke
Another round of this year’s Six Nations tournament has just wrapped up. England were blown away by a resurgent Ireland at Twickenham, Wales came heartbreakingly close to felling the Scottish, and France had their toughest game of the tournament yet against a spirited Italian team. We are over half-way through the competition now, and the final standings are starting to take shape. It is time to breakdown how each team performed this weekend and how they are shaping up going into the final two rounds.
France vs. Italy
Two years ago in this fixture in Lille, the visiting Azzuri held France to a 13-13 draw. Despite Italy’s impressive performances so far this tournament, including in this match, France would eventually claim a convincing bonus point win (33-8) to maintain their Grand Slam ambitions.
France started strong. In just 3 minutes, Italian wing, Louis Lynagh knocked back a high ball into the hands of Antonie Dupont, who quickly chipped the ball into the Italian 22. Louis Bielle-Biarrey used his astonishing pace to get in behind to dot the ball down. A moment of broken play immediately capitalised upon by France. With that score, Bielle-Biarrey has scored in a record breaking 8 consecutive Six Nations matches.
Thomas Ramos who was covering fly-half due to Jalibert’s absence due to illness, beautifully placed a 50:22 to keep the pressure up, eventually leading to second row, Emmanuel Meafou crashing over to score his first international try, and France’s second of the game. Meafou was absolutely monstrous, and fully deserving of his man of match performance. He, along with Thibaud Flament were brought in to the starting XV in place of Guillard and Ollivon likely to add a bit more heft in the second row after Italy have demonstrated just how powerful their scrum can be. At 6’8” and 145kg, Meafou is more Kaiju than man, a player most would expect to be hooked at around half time to the hour mark, utilised for big impact moments. Not only did Meafou play the full 80 minutes, he got through an impressive body of work with 13 carries, 10 tackles, a turnover, and of course, a try to his name.
France’s lead was further extended, when an overthrown Italian lineout deflected off the boot of Bielle-Biarrey and into the path of Emiliean Gailleton who made a massive line break, before finding Ramos who finished in the corner. Italy would put points on the board before half time. Tommaso Menoncello kicked the ball down field, and in a moment of madness Ramos knocked the ball back into the hands of Theo Attisogbe, who was inside the French goal area. After trying to run the ball out, Attisogbe was swarmed by Italian defenders and in the chaos the ball bobbled out of the ruck which capitalised on by the returning fullback Ange Capuozzo, who dived on the ball and scored. Garbisi would not convert, put would add a further 3 points following a penalty conceded by France at the scrum, giving Italy some life heading into the second half. Half time would end 19-8 to France.
The second half was far more of an arm wrestle. France controlled possession and territory, but were unable to execute their usual flair. Italy fronted up physically and were disciplined in defence. France were forced to be patient. But, in a defining moment, Louis Lynagh would unfortunately be yellow carded in the 70th minute for a deliberate knock-on when trying to making a tackle on Lenni Nouchi. With Italy down a man, this opened up space for France to exploit. Thomas Ramos would find Gael Drean in space off his boot, and the debutant winger would score France’s bonus point try, to cap off an already impressive first international test match. Gailleton would score a fifth try mere minutes later with Italy still at 14 men to finish the game 33-8.
The score line was not a reflection at all of how the game unfolded. Before France’s third try, Italy were steadily building phases and looked threatening in the first half, but were just not able to totally break down the imperious French defence. The Italian scrum has developed into a real dangerous weapon this Six Nations. Danilo Fischetti, Simone Ferrari, and co. have been titanic at scrum time throughout this tournament and fronted up against all opposition. French loosehead Jean-Baptisite Gros, despite early defensive work, was subbed off in the 37th minute as he was under pressure in the scrums. The French replacements in the front row fared slightly better but overall the Italian pack can add the scalp of the French scrum to their collection, alongside the Scottish and Irish. Defensively Italy were solid again despite what the score displays. Most of the French scores were either in broken play, a lucky deflection or when Italy were down a man. A major cause for concern is the lineout. The other throw from Nicotera was what led to Ramos’ try, deflection or not. Italy only won 63% of their lineouts this game. There was times it also malfunctioned against Ireland and Scotland. Italy face England next, a team not on their best form, but they do have dangerous lineout operators in Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum which could play a factor in crucial moments.
However, on current form for both teams, there is a good chance Italy overcome England, whom they have never beaten before. Against Ireland and Scotland, England struggled to break down their defence and compete at the breakdown, areas that Italy have thrived in so far. Paolo Garbisi is excellent with his boot and both Louis Lynagh and Monty Iaone are both exceptional in the air to reclaim up and unders. By contrast Arundell has struggled under the high ball, especially competing against wingers who are excellent at claiming aerial kicks i.e. Kyle Steyn and Rob Baloucoune. If Arundell is selected, his opposing winger would be Lynagh. Italy could exploit this weakness to control territory and possession. The English are of course not to be counted out. After two humbling defeats, they will be desperate to bounce back, and Borthwick may make changes to his side. Elllis Genge and Joe Heyes are also both very powerful and technical scrummagers and their pack will likely be the biggest test for the Italian pack.
For France, this game exemplified their depth and the versatility of their players. Jalibert has been on tremendous form, and he himself is second choice fly-half behind Roman Ntamack. Ramos, while not a perfect performance, still held his own in the 10 jersey. He kicked a 50:22 and the cross-field kick help set up Drean’s try. Attisogbe likewise was moved to fullback. Again whilst he does look more comfortable on the wing for Les Bleus, with 4 turnovers conceded, he still managed to do a job in the role. As for depth, Gael Drean is yet another speedster France can deploy on the wing; Fabien Brau-Boirie and Emilien Gailleton have been revelations in the absence of Yoram Moefana and Nicolas Depoortere due to injury in a position France is stacked in (Gael Fickou, Antoine Frisch etc.); Flament and Meafou replaced Mickael Guillard and Charles Ollivon seamlessly in the second row; Francois Cros, Oscar Jegou and Anthony Jelonch have gelled well in the back row but there is also Lenni Nouchi, Ollivon can cover the back row, as can Guillard, and Gregory Alldritt wasn’t even included in the squad. With depth like this, and attacking structure that is able to break down any team, the Grand Slam looks practically inevitable. A bonus point victory over Scotland would seal the championship before the final round even commences. Les Bleus seems leaps and bounds above the rest of Europe’s top teams at the moment. Can either Scotland or England upset the slam? Or will France power through to become the team with not only the most Six Nations Championships, but also the most Grand Slams of the Six Nations era?
