TEST RUGBY THIS WEEKEND: 8-9 February

08.02.2014
Wales v Ireland in Dublin (6 Nations International Championship)
England v Scotland at Murrayfield (Calcutta Cup; 6 Nations Int. Championship)
Romania v Russia in Krasnodar (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
Georgia v Portugal in Lisbon (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)
Belgium v Spain in Madrid (WCQ Europe R5; ENC 1A)

09.02.2014
Italy v France in Paris (Garibaldi Trophy; 6 Nations International Championship)

Briefly
The feature test match this weekend is that between Wales and Ireland. Both won their opening round matches last weekend. Ireland were convincing against Scotland whilst Wales, although struggled against Italy, won and kept alive the hope of yet another 6 Nations title.

In the other 6 nations matches England and Scotland tussle for the Calcutta Cup, always a special game despite Scotland’s poor showing so far this season. For this game Scotland always rises to the occasion especially when it is at Murrayfield.

France and Italy clash in Paris on Sunday. The French will out for revenge against a side who defeated them last year.

Belgium and Spain clash in what is seen as the relegation decider for the 2012-14 ENC 1A competition. Romania and Russia clash at the other end of the points table. This contest could well decide which team gets the second place in the competition and an automatic place in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, with third place having the battle in the repechage playoffs. Georgia and Portugal go head-to-head in the other game.

ITALY WIN OVER FRANCE!!

03.02.2013
Italy 23, France 18 in Rome (Garibaldi Trophy; 6 Nations)

Briefly
Oh Goodness me!! This is what I like about test rugby. Nothing is certain when it comes to results. Look at England v New Zealand last December. Now Italy have yet again been France’s stumbling block.

This win has dashed any hopes France had of a ‘Grand Slam’ which were words being commonly used in the lead up to this match. Now if Italy can defeat Scotland next weekend…

I usually don’t follow any other forum other than the one on FIRA-AER. But here are some comments from planet-rugby.

‘Awesome Italy. Awful France.Italy played with everything that France lacked - structure (bunches of blue shirts around the ball and no width again and again), pace (blue shirts ambling over to scrums and lineouts almost as though they had a 20 point lead), physicality (blue shirts not looking for the turnover and wasting lineout ball), organisation (blue backs running in to, over, past each other), kicking (blues...pfffffffft) etc etc.’

‘France were awful. They didn't have a clue how to win that game and they look to be suffering from a real lack of leadership. Italy were good but they didn't have to be better than that. Having said all that you can guarantee France will be awesome against the Welsh next week!’

The winning try.
Image thanks to bbc.co.uk

Italy celebrate.
Image thanks to www.newsclip.com

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

6 NATIONS RUGBY TEST MATCH: The French are in Rome

12.03.2011
France v Italy in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Trophy)

Venue: Stadio Flaminio

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)

Preview
Italy and France clash in Rome and it can all be summed up in one sentence. A comfortable win for France.

Sadly Italy just hasn’t taken the opportunities to win their games when provided. They should have defeated both Ireland and Wales in February but couldn’t finish off the advantage gained, or take points when offered. Oh for a goal kicker!

France lost the chance for another Grand Slam when they last two weeks ago at Twickenham. The French though haven’t really fired although they certainly have returned from the disaster that was the test match against Australia last November.

It’s going to be a massive confrontation up front. Italy usually hold their own or dominate the opposition. But against France they face, along with England, one of the world’s most formidable packs.

Last Five Encounters
14.03.2010 France 46-20 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)
21.03.2009 France 50-8 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Trophy)
09.03.2008 France 25-13 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Trophy)
03.02.2007 France 39-3 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Trophy)
25.02.2006 France 37-12 in Paris (6 Nations)

France Last Five
26.02.2011 v England L 9-17 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
13.02.2011 v Ireland W 25-22 in Dublin (6 Nations)
05.02.2011 v Scotland W 34-21 in Paris (6 Nations)
27.11.2010 v Australia L16-59 in Paris
20.11.2010 v Argentina W 15-9 in Paris

Italy Last Five
26.02.2011 v Wales L 16-24 in Rome (6 Nations)
12.02.2011 v England L 13-59 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
05.02.2011 v Ireland L 11-13 in Rome (6 Nations)
27.11.2010 v Fiji W 24-16 in Modena
20.11.2010 v Australia L 14-32 in Florence

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-France 5th, Italy 10th
Europe Table-France 2nd, Italy 6th

IRB Ranking Points
France 82.87, Italy 72.16

Prediction: France by 30 points

Teams

Italy
15 Andrea Masi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Sergio Parisse,Capt.
7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements
16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Quintin Geldenhuys, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Kristopher Burton, 22 Luke McLean.
Head Coach: Nik Mallett

France:
15 Maxime Médard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Sébastien Chabal, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, Capt. 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Sylvain Marconnet
Replacements
16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Luc Ducalcon, 18 Jerome Thion, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Julien Tomas, 21 Damien Traille, 22 Clement Poitrenaud
Head Coach: Marc Lièvremont