France 33 Italy 8
France’s Emlien Gailleton scores their fifth try. Photo: Reuters
Reuters
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France scored three tries in the opening 30 minutes before going on to record a comfortable 33-8 victory over Italy and keep up their winning run in this year’s Six Nations.
France lead the standings with 15 points from second-placed Scotland on 11 and are in a strong position to retain the title. Italy remain in fifth place on five points.
France burst into a 19-0 lead at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy with tries from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Emmanuel Meafou and Thomas Ramos to put them comfortably ahead before Ange Capuozzo dotted down for Italy to make it 19-8 at halftime.
Debutant winger Gael Drean and centre Emilien Gailleton added two more French tries in the second half.
Ramos converted four of the five tries while Paolo Garbisi put over a penalty for the visitors.
“It’s a five-point victory. In a competition where there’s a title at stake, that’s what matters most. It wasn’t our most polished performance, that’s for sure, but I can tell you that the Italian team made us work for it,” said Ramos after the game.
“It was a tough match, as expected, very tight, with an opponent who put us under pressure in possession, especially in the rucks, and who were good in the air,” added coach Fabien Galthie.
“At one point, we got into a real battle. We tensed up, but we managed to find that extra bit of energy to turn the tide and secure the attacking bonus point at the end of the match,” he said.