France maintain Grand Slam dream with Italy win
#Six Nations #France rugby #Italy rugby #Grand Slam #Lille #Rugby Union #Back-to-back titles
📌 Key Takeaways
- France defeated Italy 33-8 to maintain their Six Nations Grand Slam hopes
- France secured a bonus-point victory with four tries in Lille
- Italy remained competitive but faded in the second half
- France will face Scotland next while Italy hosts England on March 7
📖 Full Retelling
France's national rugby team secured a 33-8 bonus-point victory against Italy in Lille, maintaining their bid for a Six Nations Grand Slam and back-to-back titles under coach Fabien Galthie. Les Bleus dominated early with tries from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Emmanuel Meafou, and Thomas Ramos, who was a late replacement at fly-half due to Matthieu Jalibert's injury. Despite the scoreboard pressure, Italy remained competitive with Ange Capuozzo's try and Paolo Garbisi's penalty, though they couldn't prevent France from securing their bonus point through Gael Drean and Emilien Gailleton's second-half efforts. The victory continues France's impressive Six Nations campaign, following convincing wins over Ireland and Wales in the opening rounds. Antoine Dupont's creative play was evident as his kick through set up Bielle-Biarrey's record-eighth consecutive Six Nations try. Italy, who have only beaten France twice in the tournament's history, showed resilience but faded in the second half after captain Michele Lamaro was sin-binned. The Italian team had pushed Ireland close in Dublin the previous week and will look to build confidence when they host England, while France travels to face Scotland on March 7.
🏷️ Themes
Rugby, Six Nations, Grand Slam
📚 Related People & Topics
Lille
Prefecture and commune in Hauts-de-France, France
Lille (, LEEL; French: [lil] ; Dutch: Rijsel [ˈrɛisəl] ; Picard: Lile; West Flemish: Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No...
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Original Source
France maintain Grand Slam dream with Italy win By Alastair Telfer BBC Sport journalist Published 46 minutes ago 93 Comments Men's Six Nations France (19) 33 Tries: Bielle-Biarrey, Meafou, Ramos, Drean, Gailleton Cons: Ramos 4 Italy (8) 8 Try: Capuozzo Pen: Garbisi France recorded a bonus-point win against a spirited Italy in Lille to maintain their bid for a Six Nations Grand Slam and back-to-back titles. Les Bleus raced into a 19-0 lead through tries by Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Emmanuel Meafou and Thomas Ramos, who was a late switch at fly-half after Matthieu Jalibert was ruled out of the game. Despite the early dominance on the scoreboard, Italy remained competitive and responded by an Ange Capuozzo try and a Paolo Garbisi penalty. With Louis Lynagh in the sin-bin, debutant Gael Drean grabbed the vital bonus-point try and Emilien Gailleton crossed in a less eventful second half. The visitors have only beaten France twice in the Six Nations, with the 2024 game ending in a thrilling draw in Lille. France, who lost only one game in last year's championship, next travel to Edinburgh to face Scotland on Saturday, 7 March, while Italy host England on the same day. Given Galthie's side's strength at home, where they will play England in the final game, the next match could define their Grand Slam hopes. "I think we always believed we would get the bonus-point win," Meafou told ITV. "We knew Italy were a strong team, they hung in for 80 minutes, they never cracked and they never let go. "Our goal is to take out the Six Nations game by game but the end goal is the 2027 World Cup so we keep working towards that." Back-to-back heavy defeats for Steve Borthwick's side will also help build Italy's confidence of recording a first win over England. Gonzalo Quesada's side defeated Scotland in the opening round and ran out of steam to compete in the second half against Les Bleus. Italy fade as France maintain Grand Slam hopes France's slick attacking play blew away Ireland and Wales...
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