France vs. Italy: Score and Reaction from 2016 Six Nations Round 1

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 6, 2016

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France rode the storm to open their 2016 Six Nations campaign with a hard-fought 23-21 victory over Italy on Saturday as Guy Noves began his reign as head coach of the national team with a win.

A second-half kicking masterclass from French fly-half Jules Plisson saw the Parisian hosts hold out for a narrow victory and claim this year's Giuseppe Garibaldi trophy, their third successive Six Nations win over Italy.



Debutant Virimi Vakatawa grabbed the first try of the tournament and was joined on the scoresheet by team-mates Damien Chouly and Hugo Bonneval, while Sergio Parisse and Carlo Canna had consolation tries for a disappointed Italy side.

Paris was full of expectation of what to expect under Noves, arriving at the France helm after a 22-year coaching career at Toulouse, but this was hardly the expansive and convincing start they desired.

BBC Sport's Bryn Palmer illustrated just how close the result was, with Parisse bringing perhaps a premature end to Italy's challenge after a dismal attempt at a last-gasp drop goal:



Some fine initiative saw Jacques Brunel's side score the first points of the match through fly-half Canna, who capitalised upon his side's early territory with an astutely taken drop goal.

The fresh start signalled by Noves' takeover of Les Bleus was perfectly summed up when Vakatawa, the Test debutant currently without a club after making the switch from sevens, scored the first try of Saturday's affair.

Italy threatened early on, but it was the home team who found rhythm through the hands to grant Vakatawa space over on the left wing, and as the official Six Nations YouTube channel showed, it was a superb finish:



The 23-year-old hasn't played 15-a-side in a professional capacity since leaving Top 14 giants Racing 92 in 2013, but he delighted throughout as one of France's more positive running outlets in an oth...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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