FRA
No.Name
15Clement Poitrenaud, FB
14Marc Andreu, W
T
13David Marty, C
T
2
12Yannick Jauzion, C
T
11Alexis Palisson, W
10Francois Trinh-Duc, FH
9Morgan Parra, SH
5
2
1Thomas Domingo, P
2William Servat, H
3Nicolas Mas, P
4Lionel Nallet, L
5Julien Pierre, L
6Thierry Dusautoir, FL
7Julien Bonnaire, FL
8Imanol Harinordoquy, N8
T
Replacements
16Dimitri Szarzewski, H
17Jean-Baptiste Poux, P
18Sebastien Chabal, L
19Alexandre Lapandry, FL
T
20Dimitri Yachvili, FH
21Mathieu Bastareaud, C
22Julien Malzieu, FB

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Stade de France
2:30 PM, March 14, 2010
Attendance: 78,712
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

82'46-20 End of half
82'46-20 End of half
81'+146-20 End of second half
80'The full-time whistle blows and France have made it four wins from four in this year's Championship. They looked vulnerable and disjointed in the closing stages but mass substitutions played their part in that regard and a sloppy final quarter cannot take away from what was, for so long, a scintillating display. Indeed, it is impossible to see them failing to clinch the Grand Slam against an England side that, on the evidence of today, lacks even more invention and creativity than Italy! The Azzurri were outclassed but they never gave up and were rewarded for their honest endeavour and willingness to take some risks with two fine tries. In the end, a predictable outcome in Paris but a thoroughly enjoyable game nonetheless.
79'The French are still probing for one more try to cap what has been a fine win, working the ball from right to left and left to right in the hope of finding a gap. Nothing doing thus far, though.
77'The French turn the ball over and Italy clear. Excellent resistance from the visitors. They lack a number of things but they do not lack heart.
77'Substitute on - Riccardo Bocchino , Italy
77'Player substituted - Craig Gower , Italy
76'The French are trying to power their way over the line but the Italians are holding firm at the moment. First, a rolling maul is grounded just short and then Bastareaud bulldozes his way to within a metre. Italy are refusing to budge but Les Bleus have another lineout on their own throw to come.....
74'The French win a penalty just inside the Italian half. Interestingly, rather than go for goal, they opt to kick to touch. They've clearly been irked by the Azzurri revival and now want another try to put them back in their place.
74'46-20 Conversion - Mirco Bergamasco , Italy
73'Bergamasco is on hand once more to convert another easy kick from in front of the posts.
73'46-18 Try - Pablo Canavosio , Italy
72'Remarkable stuff! The French have completely switched off, allowing Italy a second try! This time it's Canavosio, who follows up his game-winning effort against the Scots with a terrific solo try, the scrum-half exploding off the back of a scrum before breezing past two tackles and then rounding Palisson.
71'Player substituted - Thomas Domingo , France
71'Substitute on - Nicolas Mas , France
70'Player substituted - Yannick Jauzion , France
70'Substitute on - Mathieu Bastareaud , France
70'46-13 Conversion - Mirco Bergamasco , Italy
69'Bergamasco converts to put an ever so slightly more respectable look on the scoreline.
69'46-11 Try - Carlo Antonio del Fava , Italy
68'Terrific response from the Italians! Just when they appeared ready to jack it in, they conjure up a wonderful try. After some lovely hands at close quarters down the right flank, Derbyshire breaks clear before passing inside to del Fava, who bounds over. That try was warmly greeted by the partisan French crowd.
67'Player substituted - Leonardo Ghiraldini , Italy
67'Substitute on - Fabio Ongaro , Italy
67'Substitute on - Matias Aguero , Italy
67'Player substituted - Martin Castrogiovanni , Italy
66'46-6 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
66'44-6 Try - Alexandre Lapandry , France
65'It's getting embarrassing for the Italians now. Parra sparks a move which sees the elusive Malzieu blaze a trail up the middle of the pitch before leaving another replacement in the form of Lapandry with an easy run-in.
65'Substitute on - Julien Malzieu , France
65'Player substituted - Clement Poitrenaud , France
64'Player substituted - Josh Sole , Italy
64'Substitute on - Paul Derbyshire , Italy
62'France blow an excellent opportunity to rack up another try. Again Poitrenaud provides the inspiration, taking a quick tap in midfield before racing forward, deep into Italian territory. The ball is worked wide but Chabal's pass to Andreu is a shocker and the ball bounces into touch.
62'Substitute on - Kaine Robertson , Italy
62'Player substituted - Gonzalo Garcia , Italy
59'Substitute on - Alexandre Lapandry , France
59'Player substituted - Thierry Dusautoir , France
59'Substitute on - Dimitri Yachvili , France
59'Player substituted - Francois Trinh-Duc , France
58'With the game now well and truly won, Marc Lievremont has unsurprisingly decided to empty his bench. Lapandry replaces Dusautoir while Yachvili comes on in place of Trinh-Duc, meaning Parra will go to fly-half. Is there no end to this man's talents?
58'39-6 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
57'Parra adds the extras.
57'37-6 Try - Yannick Jauzion , France
56'More sublime play from the French. The electric Andreu rips through the heart of the Italian defence before finding Jauzion with a terrific off-load in the tackle. Jauzion might be getting on a bit now but he still has a fair bit of gas left in the tank and he skips away from one tackler before shrugging off another to reach out and place the ball over the whitewash. That's Jauzion's 20th try in Test rugby.
56'Substitute on - Carlo Antonio del Fava , Italy
56'Player substituted - Marco Bortolami , Italy
55'Italy try to spread it once more. Garcia, who has threatened with his incisive running, finds some space before finding his midfield partner Canale. However, the ball is swatted out of the latter's hands and the French have the ball back.
53'The Italians look a pretty beleaguered bunch now. And the fact that McLean seems intent on kicking the ball straight to the French is hardly helping their demeanour.
52'32-6 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
52'30-6 Try - Marc Andreu , France
51'What a killer blow for the Italians. After a relatively positive spell of the game, they concede yet another try. Trinh-Duc passes inside to Andreu, who, with the aid of a terrific line and some terrific decoy runs both inside and outside of him, blazes through a gaping hole to score. He deserved that score, too.
49'Player substituted - Lionel Nallet , France
49'Substitute on - Sebastien Chabal , France
47'Italy produce their most penetrative attack of the game. Zanni marauds forward into French territory before off-loading superbly well in the tackle to Canavosio. The replacement scrum-half lobs the ball on ahead of him but France have enough men back to deal with the danger. Still, promising play from the visitors.
46'Poitrenaud attacks with real menace again, taking the Italian defence again almost singlehandedly. His break ultimately comes to nothing but he really is having a fine game today.
45'25-6 Penalty goal - Mirco Bergamasco , Italy
44'The French are caught offside shortly after the restart, thus presenting Bergamasco with an immediate chance to strike back for the visitors. It's a chance that he takes, the winger dissecting the uprights from all of 35 metres.
42'25-3 Penalty goal - Morgan Parra , France
41'The French waste little time in extending their advantage. The increasingly desperate Italians are caught offside and Parra nails the resulting 40-metre penalty with something to spare.
41'Substitute on - Jean-Baptiste Poux , France
41'Player substituted - Nicolas Mas , France
41'Substitute on - Dimitri Szarzewski , France
41'Player substituted - William Servat , France
41'22-3 End of first half
40'McLean with the restart and we're back up and running in Saint Denis.
40'After a French attack comes to nothing, McLean boots the ball into touch and a half which the home side have totally dominated comes to a close. Marc Lievremont's men, with three superb tries, have underlined just why they been the team of the Championship thus far. Italy have hardly helped themselves, though, turning the ball over every time some advantageous field position has come their way. If the Azzurri don't tighten things up in the second half they are likely to be routed this afternoon.
40'22-3 Start of second half
38'It's gone a little flat in Paris at the minute, which is hardly surprising. The French have dropped off a tad after a whirlwind start but we can forgive them that, such was the quality of their rugby in the opening half hour.
36'22-3 Penalty goal - Mirco Bergamasco , Italy
35'Some long overdue encouragement for the Italians. Their formidable front row gets a good shove on in the scrum and the pressure eventually leads to a penalty ten metres inside French territory which is impressively converted by Bergamasco.
33'France threaten again through the classy Poitrenaud but Masi is on hand to snuff out the danger after the Toulouse fullback and kicked ahead into the corner.
31'The Italians can't do anything right at the minute. After securing a lineout close to the French line on their own throw, they turn it over, the majestic Harinordoquy pilfering possession back for Les Bleus. A hammer blow for the Azzurri.
31'Player substituted - Tito Tebaldi , Italy
31'Substitute on - Pablo Canavosio , Italy
30'There may only be half an hour gone in Paris but Nick Mallett has decided that it's already time for change. Off goes scrum-half Tebaldi and on comes Canavosio in his place.
28'The Italians now look completely shell-shocked - and who can blame them? When France play like this at home, as Ireland know only too well, they are pretty much unstoppable. Such an intoxicating mix of power and panache.
26'22-0 Try - David Marty , France
25'Try! This is just utterly glorious stuff from the French. Marty is again the scorer but much of the credit for this latest try has to go to Poitrenaud, who opted against kicking to touch after collecting possession inside his own 22 and decided instead to scythe through the Italian defence before off-loading to Jauzion. He deftly popped the ball into the path of the onrushing Harinordoquy, who brushed off one challenge before charging forward and then putting Marty over in the corner. Yet another fantastic try from the champions elect.
22'Italy are doing their best to hang in there, making as many big hits as they can, but the French are rampant at the moment. Andreu is proving particularly eye-catching wide on the right. The Castres winger is a real livewire with ball in hand.
20'Scrum.com's Graham Jenkins: "Cricket score coming at the Stade de France as expected - no doubt England are watching and a little worried."
19'17-0 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
18'Parra nails the conversion and this already looks like game over! Nothing has gone right for the Italians in this opening quarter.
18'15-0 Try - David Marty , France
17'Try! France make no mistake this time around! Parra feeds the ball to Trinh-Duc and his splendid skipped pass finds Marty, who streaks through the fractured Italian line unchallenged to score.
16'France waste their first opportunity to make their numerical advantage pay, with the forwards pinged for accidental offside as they tried to maul their way over from close range.
16'Yellow card - Gonzalo Garcia , Italy
15'Hilarious stuff! Garcia is on his way back off, this time after picking up a yellow card for blatantly obstructing Andreu, who was attempting to get on the end of his own chip forward. That all originated from Bergamasco kicking the ball away cheaply whilst Italy were on the offensive, thus allowing Andreu to streak clear down the right wing.
13'Player substituted - Kaine Robertson , Italy
13'Substitute on - Gonzalo Garcia , Italy
12'At last, some good news for the visitors: Garcia has made a Lazarus-like recovery and has re-entered the fray.
11'10-0 Penalty goal - Morgan Parra , France
10'The French really are up for this. Domingo provides them with some excellent go-forward ball which eventually forces Italy into the concession of a penalty. Parra nails the resulting kick with ease. For the Italians, this is an ominously energetic start by the French.
8'As if Italy don't have enough problems as it is, they've now been forced into a back-line reshuffle following the injury-enforced withdrawal of the lively Garcia. Robertson has come on in the centre's place.
8'Player substituted - Gonzalo Garcia , Italy
8'Substitute on - Kaine Robertson , Italy
6'Scrum.com's Huw Baines: "We might have just seen the two players of the tournament in tandem - Parra and Harinordoquy are just so impressive."
6'7-0 Conversion - Morgan Parra , France
6'5-0 Try - Imanol Harinordoquy , France
5'Try! Terrific stuff from the French. After a clean take at the lineout, the ball is worked infield. First, Palisson has a go before being wrapped up in midfield. However, from the resulting ruck Parra breaks through the Italian defence before finding Harinordoquy with a sumptuous off-load, leaving the No.8 witha simple finish under the posts. A great try and one which was easily converted by Parra.
3'Italy get their hands on the ball in French territory for the first time. They attempt to move it wide, with predictably catastrophic consequences, knocking it on, thus wasting a decent attacking position.
2'After a stirring start, Francois Trinh-Duc drops into the pocked and attempts a drop goal. However, his effort drifts to the right of the posts. Italy survive.... for now!
1'We're up and running in St Denis. Italy have never beaten France in the Six Nations - could this be the day?... Highly unlikely, as the French are already threatening a try!
1'Good afternoon, folks, I'm Mark Doyle and welcome to scrum.com's live coverage of today's Six Nations encounter between France and Italy in Paris. France, of course, are on the verge of a Grand Slam and will be supremely confident of dispatching a side that they have lost to just once in 30 previous meetings, in Grenoble in 1997. Les Bleus' recent form also points towards a comfortable home win. They swept Scotland aside on the opening weekend with the minimum of fuss before completely overwhelming their principal Championship rivals Ireland at the Stade de France the following weekend. They were given a second-half fight in Cardiff a fortnight ago but the French did enough in the opening period to rack up a third successive win. A fourth now appears little more than a formality. However, Italy should not be underestimated. They frustrated Ireland for longer periods, ran England close in Rome seven days later and then recorded a spirited victory over the Scots in round three. Tries remain desperately hard to come by the for the Azzurri but they did show a greater willingness to play an open, expansive game against the Scots last time out. And, of course, as ever, their formidable forwards will relish the opportunity to get one over on a French pack which has yet to be bested in this year's Championship. So, while we're all expecting France to run riot, the Italians could easily make this interesting. How long for? We'll find out in just over an hour's time..... Calling UK readers - Want to tell us what you think of ESPN and put yourself in with a chance to win tickets to UK sports events or a 32-inch TV? Well then click here to join the ESPN Fan Forum. Just a recap on the team news ahead of kick-off. France have made two changes to the side which overcame Wales, with David Marty coming into midfield in place of Mathieu Bastareaud, who has been benched, and Marc Andreu getting the nod ahead of Julien Malzieu on the right wing. Italy boss Nick Mallett, meanwhile, has wholly unsurprisingly decided against making any changes to the side which beat the Scots. For a more in-depth look at today's game, check out our Match Preview. 14.27: We're ever so slightly behind schedule in Paris as the are only getting underway now. We'd complain but who'd listen?!
1'0-0 Start of first half

Six Nations Championship 2010 News