France labour to much-needed victory
France ended their 343-day wait for a Test win by overcoming Italy at the Stade Velodrome, as secondhalf tries by Hugo Bonneval and Mathieu Bastareaud along with Maxime Machenaud’s 17-point haul paved the way for victory.
Attacking line-outs misfiring, dropped scoring passes; exceptional moments were of short supply in this laboured effort.
Whether France won or lost England head coach Eddie Jones was unlikely to have learnt anything substantial before his side head to Paris in a fortnight’s time.
Aside from the exceptional Yacouba Camara, replaced far too early, France were beset by basic mistakes at key moments.
Jacques Brunel will have been pragmatic about the challenges ahead of him after taking over from the sacked Guy Noves, and yet the size of the task at hand may be only just dawning at him. This fixture saw the French Rugby Federation break new ground by hosting a Six Nations match away from the Stade de France for the first time, but low skill levels killed both teams.
Brunel had been left with no choice but to drop the Six Nations top try scorer in Teddy Thomas along with eight other players after their late-night over-exuberance in Edinburgh. Thomas might have been missing but France soon found an alternative way to create tries, consecutive early mauls scattering Italy’s pack in the build-up to Paul Gabrillagues crashing over for the opening score after five minutes. Italy’s response was to fight fire with fire. Having opted against a kickable penalty next it was the Azzurri’s pack clattering their way over, with a score initially awarded to Maxime Mbanda before being upgraded to a penalty try after a review to put Italy ahead 7-5.
Remi Lamerat was another of those axed by Brunel, and on the evidence of Bastareaud’s first game since serving a three-match ban Lamerat may struggle to get back in. It was Bastareaud who released flanker Wenceslas Lauret into an almighty hole, one of many excellent touches for the Toulon centre, only for Lauret to squander a substantial overlap to his left as Italy’s scrambled defence just about survived.
France’s pressure eventually produced more points and the lead after Italy gave successive penalties, Machenaud chipping over two penalties before the half-time break for an 11-7 advantage. But the efforts of Camara, Bastareaud and even the erratic Lionel Beauxis were wasted due to a lack of end product, with even Bastareaud himself guilty of a spill with the line beckoning.
Boos and whistles were inevitable after Camara and Bastareaud, the game’s two outstanding players, combined to create a three-on-one that was appalling wasted by Beauxis and Doumayrou; France forced again to settle from Machenaud’s boot.
France eventually did execute – Bastareaud showing superb strength and skill to release Hugo Bonneval whose one-two with Remy Grosso led to the full-back coasting over for the home side’s second try.
Machenaud’s fourth penalty put the game out of reach for Italy at 2410. There were small suggestions here that Italy’s demoralising wait for a win in the championship is edging closer. Yet those small hints of a revival are at the moment are being entirely overshadowed by the Azzurri’s current run of 15 straight Six Nations defeats, after more misery in Marseille.
Scores 5-0 (Paul Gabrillagues try), 5-7 (Penalty Try Italy), 8-7 (Maxime Machenaud penalty), 11-7 (Machenaud penalty); half-time; 14-7 (Machenaud penalty), 14-10 (Tommaso Allan penalty), 19-10 (Remy Grosso try), 21-10 (Machenaud conversion), 24-10 (Machenaud penalty), 27-10 (Machenaud penalty), 32-10 (Mathieu Bastareaud try), 34-10 (Francois Trinh-duc conversion), 34-15 (Matteo Minozzi try), 34-17 (Carlo Canna conversion)
France H Bonneval, B Fall, M Bastareaud, G Doumayrou, R Grosso, L Beauxis, M Machenaud; J Poirot, G Guirado (capt), R Slimani, P Gabrillagues, S Vahaamahina, W Lauret, Y Camara, M Tauleigne. Replacements
A Pelissie, D Priso, Cgomes Sa, R Taofifenua, K Galletier, B Couilloud, F Trinh-duc, G Fickou.
Italy M Minozzi, T Benvenuti, T Boni, T Castello, M Bellini, T Allan, M Violi; A Lovotti, L Ghiraldini, S Ferrari, A Zanni, D Budd, S Negri, M Mbanda’, S Parisse (capt). Replacements L Bigi, N Quaglio, T Pasquali, G Biagi, F Ruzza, E Gori, C Canna, J Hayward.
Referee Wayne Barnes (England).