RUGBY Live

Finished Stade de France

France 25 - Italy 13

France

Italy

  1. France win keeps title hopes alive

    France win keeps title hopes alive

    France extended their perfect record against Italy with a 25-13 win that kept alive their slim chances of retaining the Six Nations title. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:80'
    • France
    • Italy
    • FT There is the final whistle and France have kept their Six Nations hopes alive with this win. But they do need to go to Cardiff and beat Wales by 20 points in order to retain the Championship Trophy for the third year running
    • 80+1 A loose ball on the right wing almost falls for Malzieu but it dribbles into touch and surely than will be the last play of the game
    • 79' Rougerie breaks down the right wing again but he is just shoved into touch 10 metres short of the line
    • 77' Still Italy are within 10 metres of their try line but they cannot seem to find a way through the French defence and France turn the ball over before booting it upfield
    • 74' The visitors continue to exert the pressure with Tomas giving away a sloppy penalty for failing to release the ball and Marcato will kick for touch
    • 72' Italy still have not given up on this match though and are pushing once again for the try line with Bortolami, Bergamasco and Masi trying to make the hard yards
    • 69' France really are wreaking havoc in the Italian defence now but another stupid error stops the hosts from having a third try to their name
    • 67' CONVERSION! Yachvili adds the extra two points and surely France have done enough to secure the win now
    • 66' TRY FRANCE! This time Rougerie is awarded a try with substitute Traille gets his hands through a double tackle to set Rougerie free for an easy touch-down
    • 64' Thion needs treatment to his neck on the right wing after Perugini drags him to the ground by the throat and the Italian is lucky not to be sin-binned for the tackle
    • 63' NO TRY FRANCE! Bergamasco did brilliantly well dragging Rougerie down just short before managing to get a hand under the ball to hold it up as the two skidded over the line
    • 62' Floch, only just back on the field after having a blood injury patched up, unleashes Rougerie on the right wing. Rougerie is on his way but Bergamasco is tracking back, will he get there in time? Oooh! That is going to be really close and the decision will go to the TMO
    • 60' Italy substitute: Try-scorer Castrogiovanni is immediately substituted by Italy as he walks off clutching his shoulder
    • 59' CONVERSION! Marcato is proving himself more than worthy of the pressured job of Italian kicker as he ignores the French jeers once more to put Italy within five points
    • 58' TRY ITALY! The French back just disintergrated as Italy pushed for the line with 19 stone Castrogiovianni the man who eventually gets the ball over the line
    • 57' Italy kick for touch and they will try to push for the try that could get them right back into this match ...
    • 53' This time Yachvili cannot add the conversion from the admittedly tough angle - it does not miss by much though, the ball bouncing off the left post
    • 52' TRY FRANCE! Finally the hosts make the breakthrough from some slow, stalled play in the middle of the field. Yachvili picks the ball up from the base of the ruck, spots a gaping hole in the Italy defence and chips through towards the left wing. Jauzion races through the gap and collects the high bounce to touch down well ahead of Galon
    • 47' There's a lot of effort going on in the middle of the field at the moment but very little territory or possession is being made of it by either side so far
    • 44' Masi on the attack for Italy but he loses the ball forward and France regain possession
    • 43' Italy get the first penalty of the second half as Diarra is penalised for being offside. It isn't a kickable penalty but Marcato will have the chance to kick the ball for an attacking line-up
    • 41' France get the second half underway ...
    • 40' There is the half time whistle and Italy have escaped without conceding any further points leaving Floch's try being the only difference between the sides at the interval
    • 39' David makes a good 15 metres with the 16 stone debutant powering his way through three Italian players before being taken out by Bergamasco. France recycle the ball to Diarra, who gets to within milimetres of the line but Parisse comes up with a great tackle to push him out of play. There was a knock-on in the build-up it turns out and Italy will have the chance to clear
    • 36' PENALTY FRANCE! Italy are penalised for not rolling away and Yachvili calmly puts his second penalty of the day in between the posts
    • 35' Del Fava is sent off the pitch by the referee to receive some attention for a blood injury allowing Erasmus to rejoin the field
    • 33' Szarzewski flings a long, loose ball into the line-out allowing Italy to steal but the vistitors fail to find touch and the ball in right back in the hands of France. This is very sloppy play!
    • 30' PENALTY ITALY! Marcato does brilliantly well to steady himself just inside the half way line and put the ball between the posts despite the best efforts of the French crowd to put him off!
    • 29' Once again France concede a stupid penalty just minutes after scoring themselves - this time it is Szarzewski who is penalised for handling in the ruck
    • 27' PENALTY FRANCE! Yachvili restores the seven point difference with a comfortable kick from in front of the posts
    • 26' Trinh-Duc chips through for Jauzion to chase but he is taken out of the ball by Canale and that will be a penalty to France much to the annoyance of the Italian's in the crowd who thought Robertson was away on the counter
    • 25' Malzieu is having a great day out on the right as he powers through both Picone and Galon but eventually Italy intercept. It's very scrappy and we'll come back for a France scrum
    • 22' Italy come so close to getting a try as Ghiraldini breaks on the left wing, he can't take the ball all the way but he has Canale inside him for the offload. Oooh! Such a missed opportunity as Canale fumbles the pass and ends up knocking on, despite having got away from his man Yachvili. Nick Mallett is leaping up and down in his seat on the sidelines and he looks livid with that mistake. Can't blame him really!
    • 17' PENALTY ITALY! Marcato strikes back putting three points on the board for Italy with his first kick off the afternoon
    • 16' Diarra gives away a dumb penalty to allow Italy a kick at goal just minutes after France opened the scoring ...
    • 13' CONVERSION! Yachvilli adds the extra two point to complete France's seven point first 15 minutes
    • 13' TRY FRANCE! A brilliantly well worked try from the line-out for the hosts. Fullback Floch is the man to touch the ball down but the whole team was involved with the forwards making 30 yards on the maul before Trinh-Duc put the chip up towards the left wing and Malzieu leaps up to keep the ball in play offloading before he landed in touch. Great hands from the centre
    • 12' Del Fava is penalised for holding on to the ball in the break down and France kick to earn themselves a very dangerous line-out
    • 10' Castrogiovanni just needing a spot of treatment on the right wing - this is proving to be a very physical game so far, something that can only benefit the, usually, more experienced Italian line-up today
    • 8' Erasmus makes an early substitute debut appearance as Bortolami scampers up the tunnel to receive a few stitches
    • 6' The quick tap and go from France was too quick for the referees liking, that's what the hosts were penalised for, and Italy have a great chance to clear their lines and escape without conceding
    • 5' Oooh! What a mistake from France as they opt to push for the try instead of taking the three points and end up conceding a scrum. That's France's inexperience telling right there, so early in the game
    • 4' Trinh-Duc chips through the Italy defence, Bergamasco tracks back but fluffs the catch and instead ends up knocking the ball back towards his own try line ... penalty France - this should be an easy three points to the hosts
    • 2' Italy are immediately on the offensive as Masi powers through not one but two tackles. Masi goes to ground though and the first scrum of the afternoon will go to France
    • 1' Italy get the match underway ...
    • 14:55 The players are now out on the pitch and are lined up ready for the national anthems with play scheduled to get underway in about five minutes time
    • 14:51 Italy really have struggled all tournament and were woefully inadequate during their record loss to Wales last weekend. But with Scotland grabbing a win against England yesterday, Italy will want to avoid a whitewash in the tournament by picking up a win in one of their last two matches
    • 14:50 France are the overwhelming favourites to win the match taking place at the Stade Francais and need a win this weekend, plus a win over Wales next weekend, to stand any chance of winning the trophy
    • 14:48 Hello and welcome to Eurosport's LIVE coverage of today's Six Nations clash between France and Italy

  • Summary

    France versus Italy
    Floch 13’, Jauzion 53’, Rougerie 66’ Tries Castrogiovanni 58’
    Yachvili 13’, 66’ Conversions Marcato 58’
    Yachvili 27’, 37’ Penalties Marcato 18’, 30’
      Drops  

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Alan Lewis

  • France

    Manager: Marc Lievremont

    On the Field

    • Barcella
    • Szarzewski Substitution Out (63′)
    • Mas Substitution Out (61′)
    • Nallet
    • Thion Substitution Out (68′)
    • Diarra Substitution Out (50′)
    • Ouedrago
    • Picamoles
    • Yachvili Substitution Out (71′)
    • Trinh-Duc
    • Malzieu
    • David Substitution Out (59′)
    • Jauzion Try
    • Rougerie Try
    • Floch Substitution In (61′) Try Substitution Out (54′)

    Subs

    • Traille Substitution In (59′)
    • Poux Substitution In (61′)
    • Mela Substitution In (68′)
    • Clerc Substitution In (54′) Substitution Out (61′)
    • Bonnaire Substitution In (50′)
    • Tomas Substitution In (71′)
    • Guirado Substitution In (63′)

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

  • Italy

    Manager: Nick Mallett

    On the Field

    • Lo Cicero Substitution Out (56′)
    • Ghiraldini Substitution Out (54′)
    • Castrogiovanni Try Substitution Out (59′)
    • Del Fava
    • Bortolami Substitution In (14′) Substitution Out (7′)
    • Sole
    • Zanni
    • Parisse
    • Picone Substitution Out (69′)
    • Masi
    • Galon
    • Bergamasco
    • Canale Substitution Out (75′)
    • Robertson
    • Marcato

    Subs

    • Perugini Substitution In (56′)
    • Ongaro Substitution In (54′)
    • Travagli Substitution In (69′)
    • Nieto Substitution In (59′)
    • Sgarbi
    • Erasmus Substitution In (7′) Substitution Out (14′)
    • Patrizio Substitution In (75′)

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None