France to host Italy in Marseille

France will play their first home Six Nations fixture outside of Paris when they face Italy in Marseil leon 23 February next year.

Mar se ille’ s 67,000- seater Or an geVelod rome, home to the city’ s football team, will host the match, which will be Les Bleus’ third game of the championship. The move comes after the stadi - um staged this year’s Top 14 semi- finals in front of bumper crowds of over 63,000 for each game.

France last visited Marseille in November 2014, recording a 40- 15 win over Fiji in an autumn Test, and have played all their home Five and Six Nations matches since 1998 at Stade de France in Paris.