If there were questions over France’s ability to finish teams off after coughing up numerous chances against England a fortnight ago, they have been thoroughly put to bed. A ruthless 11-try demolition of a handy Italy side on their own patch served as a reminder that, on their day, there are few better outfits in rugby than a French team in full flow.
Fabien Galthié, the head coach, made some bold selection decisions, dropping his ace wing Damian Penaud and fly-half Matthieu Jalibert from the match-day 23. A seven-one bench split was a sign of the plan and France’s power game duly delivered. They stomped over the gainline with just about every carry, unloaded six heavies off the bench in one go on 48 minutes and pulverised the Italians, who sparkled on rare occasions but were totally outgunned.
Not that defensive frailties matter when you have monstrous ball‑carriers. With Dupont zipping it around from the front foot, he simply had to find willing runners off his shoulder. Before half-time Paul Boudehent and Barré scored to notch up the bonus point as France went into the break 35-17 to the good.
Five minutes after the restart, Grégory Alldritt crashed over. The lineout served as the platform but, rather than maul, the ball pinged off the top for the No 8 to barrel down the inside 10 channel.
France’s ability to combine power with panache was in full bloom. Then came Le Bombe Equipe. French rugby has not shaken off fully the disappointment of their 2023 World Cup quarter-final defeat by South Africa but Galthié is not too proud to pull a page from the Springboks’ playbook. A new front row, and fresh legs in three other positions in the pack, fuelled the onslaught to come.
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Better teams than Italy would have capitulated similarly. Before the hour, Bielle-Biarrey scored his sixth try in as many Tests and Dupont bagged his second of the match, collecting an inside pass from Ramos before fending off Allan with a stiff hand. The Garbisi brothers combined when the scrum-half Allesandro straightened the line and fed the fly-half Paolo off the back of a solid scrum, but the Mexican waves in the stands were proof that the home crowd had given up hope of a revival.
In the closing minutes Dupont moved to fly-half as Maxime Lucu entered the scene. It might have been a coincidence, but France looked less cohesive from then, perhaps handing Galthié enough evidence that his best player is not necessarily an option at No 10. Not that it mattered. France’s domination of the gainline created space in the trams for Théo Attissogbé and Barassi to score before the close. France are back with a bang and remain in the hunt for the title.
