Ollivon hails ‘serious’ approach after win

France captain Charles Ollivon was delighted their “serious” approach against Italy paid off with a handsome opening Six Nations victory.

Les Bleus made a strong statement by running in seven tries and coasting to a 50-10 win at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

"We repeated it all week and during the training camp in Nice, it took a lot of seriousness,” Ollivon, pictured, said at the postmatch press conference.

France have not been Six Nations champions since 2010, but Fabien Galthie’s side won seven of their nine games in 2020 and head to Ireland next with confidence.

Scrum-half Antoine Dupont, the 2020 player of the tournament, was again outstanding and joined Dylan Cretin, Gael Fickou, Arthur Vincent, Brice Dulin and Teddy Thomas, who crossed twice, on the try sheet.

Ollivon said: "In the first half, they put in big sequences, very hard to defend.

“At this level, there is no room for relaxation, even 30 seconds. It’s a big satisfaction, but we will quickly have to switch and move on because we have a big game in a week."

Italy head coach Franco Smith is still looking for his first win since being appointed in November 2019. But the former South Africa international insists he believes in his young group of players, with 10 of the starting XV against France having fewer than 10 caps. Smith, whose side visit champions England next week, said: “I don't think the French are that (much) better than us. Ball in hand we played well and we suffered five tries from our mistakes, but we can improve and recover immediately. Growing a team internationally is difficult, but physically the boys were fine and we were equal to them in intensity."