Two years ago, the French cemented their reputation for messing
up games they should have won by forgetting to show up (mentally of course - they at
least managed to get onto the pitch) in Rome and were rewarded by receiving a
physical hiding from the Italian pack, giving the Azzurri a historic 22-21
victory. Since then, the French came
close to glory at the World Cup before floundering to a disappointing 4th place
finish in last year’s Championship. The
Italians meanwhile have continued their slow upward cave, having won at least
one match in the championship in 5 of the last 6 years, and pushed Australia
all the way in the autumn internationals.
The French though, are about as consistent as a Bill Clinton
response to allegation of inappropriate sexual behaviour, and following an average 6 nations and summer tour, pulled out a
seriously impressive series of displays in their Autumn internationals, with
the total destruction of the Australian pack showing off the sheer power of Les
Blues forwards. At home the Italians are
a force to be reckoned with, but can they hold off the French onslaught? If it actually comes at all of course...
Italy Team News
Luke Maclean comes in for Italian legend and fiery left wing
Mirco Bergamasco, whilst Tobe Botes makes a staet in place of Edoardo Gori at scrum
half. The only change in the pack from
their impressive showing against the Wallabies sees Simone Favaro replace
Robert Barbieri at openside.
Starting Line up: A
Masi; G Venditti, T Benvenuti, A Sgarbi, L McLean; L Orquera, T Botes; A Lo
Cicero, L Ghiraldini, M Castrogiovanni, Q Geldenhuys, F Minto, A Zanni, S
Favaro, S Parisse (capt).
Replacements: D
Giazzon, A de Marchi, L Cittadini, A Pavanello, P Derbyshire, E Gori, K Burton,
G Canale.
Key Player
Sergio Parisse. I’m sure we’re all bored of hearing it but at times the man almost carries the team on his shoulders all by himself. Appearing all over the park, he stands in at flyhalf, hits lines a centre would be proud of, and carries like the world class number 8 he is – it’s a suprise he doesn’t occasionally pack down in the front row. The more Italy can get him into the game, the better their chances of winning are.
France Team News
France make 6 changes to the side that beat Samoa in the
autumn, with Yoann Huget starting at fullback, Benjamin Fall replacing the
injured Vincent Clerc, whilst Maxime Machenaud starts instead of Morgan Parra
in a suprise call at scrum half. In the
pack, Thierry Dusautoir is recalled at flanker, whilst prop Yannick Forestier and
hooker Dimitri Szarzewski start in the front row.
Starting Line up: Y Huget; W Fofana, F Fritz, M Mermoz, B Fall; F Michalak, M Machenaud; Y Forestier, D Szarzewski, N Mas, P Pape (capt), Y Maestri, T Dusautoir, F Ouedraogo, L Picamoles.
Replacements: B
Kayser, V Debaty, L Ducalon, R Taofifenua, D Chouly, M Parra, F Trinh-Duc, M
Bastareaud.
Key Player
Louis Picamoles. The
giant from Toulouse is key to getting France on the front foot, striding
through tacklers with apparent ease off the base of a scrum. France will be hoping their set piece can
carry on their impressive form from the autumn in order to give the big number eight
a solid platform to work off.
Key Battle
Given that I’ve picked the 2 number 8s as the key players,
it makes sense that this is going to be the key battleground. I can see a brutal 80 minutes as these two tango
their way around the pitch. Picamoles is
probably the more physical of the two but Parisse offers the subtlety of hand
and game management to bring his teammates into the play. Both are essential to getting their sides on
the going forward.
·
Italy have won just 2 of the 34 matches played
between the two countries
·
France have won only 2 games in their last five
away matches in the six nations.
·
Italy have not won more than one game in a Six
nations since 2006
France impressed in their Autumn Internationals and I think they have enough class to win in Italy. France to win by 10 points after breaking down stubborn Italian resistance for 60 minutes.
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