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