FRANCE v ITALY Garibaldi Cup 6 Nations International Championship

03.02.2013

Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Preview
The last time these two teams met in Rome Italy scored an outstanding win.

France is a team in great form. With a new-look line up since June has produced a team that were undefeated during the northern autumn campaign.

Italy played well to push Australia to within 3 points in their clash  in November.

Last Five Encounters
04.02.2012 France 30-12 in Paris (6 Nations;Garibaldi Tr.)
12.03.2011 Italy 22-21 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Tr.)
14.03.2010 France 46-20 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Tr.)
21.03.2009 France 50-8 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Tr.)
09.03.2008 France 25-13 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Tr.)

France Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
24.11.2012 v Samoa W 22-14 in Paris
17.11.2012 v Argentina W 39-22 in Lille
10.11.2012 v Australia W 33-6 in Paris
23.06.2012 v Argentina W 49-10 in Tucuman
16.06.2012 v Argentina L 20-23 in Cordoba

Italy Last Five P 5, W 3, L 2
24.11.2012 v Australia L 19-22 in Florence
17.11.2012 v New Zealand L 10-42 in Rome
10.11.2012 v Tonga W 28-22 in Brescia
24.06.2012 v United States W 30-10 in Houston
16.06.2012 v Canada W 25-16 in Toronto

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: France 3rd, Italy 12th
Europe Table: France 4th, Italy 5th

IRB Ranking Points
France 85.07, Italy 76.24

Prediction: France by 9 points

TEAMS

France

15		Yoann Huget	Bayonne
14		Wesley Fofona	Clermont Auvergne
13		Florian Fritz	Toulouse
12		Maxime Mermoz	Toulon
11		Benjamin Fall	Racing-Metro
10		Frédéric Michalak	Toulon
9		Maxime Machenaud	Racing-Metro
8		Louis Picamoles	Toulouse
7		Fulgence Ouedraogo	Montpellier
6		Thierry Dusautoir	Toulouse
5		Yoann Maestri	Toulouse
4		Pascal Pape (Capt.)	Stade Francais
3		Nicolas Mas	Perpignan
2		Dimitri Szarzewski	Stade Francais
1		Yannick Forestier	Castres
16		Benjamin Kayser	Clermont Auvergne
17		Vincent Debaty	Clermont Auvergne
18		Luc Ducalcon	Racing Metro
19		Romain Taofifenua	Perpignan
20		Damien Chouly	Clermont Auvergne
21		Morgan Parra	Clermont Auvergne
22		Francois Trinh-Duc	Montpellier
23		Mathieu Bastareaud	Toulon
		HEAD COACH: Phillipe Saint Andre

Italy

15		Andrea Masi	London Wasps, England
14		Giovanbattista Venditti	Zebre Rugby
13		Tommaso Benvenuti	Treviso
12		Alberto Scarbi	Treviso
11		Luke McLean	Treviso
10		Luciano Orquera	Zebre Rugby
9		Tobais Botes	Treviso
8		Sergio Parisse (Capt.)	Stade Francais, France
7		Simone Favaro	Treviso
6		Alessandro Zanni	Treviso
5		Francesco Minto	Treviso
4		Quintin Geldenhuys	Zebre Rugby
3		Martin Castrogiovani	Leicester Tigers, England
2		Leonardo Ghiraldini	Treviso
1		Andrea Lo Cicero	Racing-Metro Paris, France
16		Davide Giazzon	Zebre Rugby
17		Alberto De Marchi	Treviso
18		Lorenzo Cittadini	Treviso
19		Antonio Pavanello	Treviso
20		Paul Derbyshire	Treviso
21		Edoardo Gori	Treviso
22		Kristopher Burton	Treviso
23		Gonzalo Canale	La Rochelle, France
		HEAD COACH: Jacques Brunel