France kicks off its tournament well by beating Italy – Liberation

The essential is assured. The French rugby team won its first match in the Six Nations tournament with a score of 37 to 10 against Italy. The first half was sluggish, in particular due to a slippery ball for both teams due to the rain that fell in Paris this Sunday.

“The supporters saw as much as we did that we made a lot of mistakes this evening and a lot of clumsiness in complicated conditions. The result is there, we can be satisfied with it. […] We were too approximate in all areas of the field, we gave them a lot of easy things, penalties, forwards in our camp. We have to rectify it and be more serious”, admitted captain Antoine Dupont after the match at the microphone of France 2.

Italy were the first team to cross the line after a ball released by Melvyn Jaminet under a high ball. The Blues, who played without their coach, Fabien Galthié, isolated because of Covid-19, then went ahead of the score before the break thanks to two tries from Anthony Jelonch and Gabin Villière, and two penalties from Melvyn Jaminet. The score was now 18-10 at halftime.

The second period was one-sided for the French, who played in white. Gabin Villière scored his second personal try, before Damian Penaud scored the offensive bonus try. The Italians, they have not scored a single point in the last forty minutes.

“It validates two weeks of work and the score is there, the bonus is there. So we’re not going to spit on it. It’s very positive for the future and of course we’re going to work on the little flaws because we know it’s going to be a very big game against Ireland., commented Gabin Villière at the end of the meeting.

In the other two games of the tournament on Saturday, Ireland defeated Wales 29-7 and Scotland beat England 20-17. In the standings, France lead Ireland thanks to a better point difference. Scotland follows at four points, then England, one point. Italy brings up the rear behind Wales, again due to the points difference.