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- By Alastair Telfer
- BBC sport
Image source, fake images
Ange Capuozzo plays club rugby in France with Toulouse
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Guinness Six Nations: France-Italy |
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Attempts: Olivan Feathers: bouquets 2 Scam: bouquets |
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Attempts: Capuozzo Feathers: Page-Relo, Garbisi Scam: Garbisi |
Paolo Garbisi’s injury-time penalty hit the post and Italy were denied their first Six Nations victory in France.
The flyhalf looked set to seal the historic victory until the ball fell off the tee, resulting in a rushed attempt due to the shot clock.
Ange Capuozzo’s late try and Garbisi’s difficult conversion drew Italy level against the 14-man hosts.
Center Jonathan Danty saw his high tackle upgraded to a red card during a halftime review.
The 31-year-old made direct contact with Juan Ignacio Brex in a vertical tackle at the end of a frustrating first half for the French.
The hosts dominated from the start and scored the opening try through Charles Ollivon, but lacked precision throughout.
The Azzurri, who beat France twice in Rome during the Six Nations, stayed in touch thanks to penalties from Martin Page-Relo and Garbisi.
Despite having an extra player throughout the second half, Italy never threatened until the closing stages, when history was in sight.
The draw means Italy’s victory in Cardiff two years ago remains their only championship victory in their last 45 attempts.
France’s struggles continue
France has yet to regain its pre-World Cup form, leading many to believe they would go on and lift the Webb Ellis Cup on home soil.
Despite a controversial victory at Murrayfield, France struggled to find fluidity in attack, and the devastation of home World Cup failure still lingers.
The hosts looked to have put all that behind them as Ollivon juggled an offload before hitting the ball into the ground for an early try.
The closed roof at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy helped generate an electric atmosphere in Lille, with 19-year-old Posolo Tuilagi matching the energy with powerful carries on his debut.
The 2022 Grand Slam champions were forced to reshuffle the defensive line for the second half following the dismissal of Dante and the injury of flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert.
The impact was an unstructured final 40 minutes that came to life when Italy showed sharp hands to unleash their star Capuozzo and dive into the corner.
Garbisi’s confidence in finishing the extras indicated that he could well have taken the much easier penalty to win the game.
However, after being forced to replace the ball and with the clock almost up, the flyhalf’s kick was not as clean as it should have been.
Italy remains bottom of the table and will host Scotland on March 9, while fourth-place France travel to Cardiff to play Wales on March 10.
France: Ramos; Penaud, Fickou, Danty, Lebel, Jalibert, Lucu; Baille, Mauvaka, Atonio, Woki, Tuilagi, Boudehent, Ollivon (captain), Cros.
Replacements: Marchand, Taofifenua, Aldegheri, Taofifenua, Roumat, Abadie, Le Garrec, Moefana.
Italy: Capuozzo; Menoncello, Brex, Mori, Ioane, Garbisi, Page-Relo; Fischetti, Nicotera, Zilocchi, Cannone, Ruzza, Favretto, Lamaro (captain), Vintcent.
Replacements: Lucchesi, Spagnolo, Ferrari, Canali, Zambonin, Zuliani, Varney, Marin.
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)