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Mon 4 Feb 2013 | 08:08
Italy stun France with another Six Nations upset win in Rome

23
Comments

In one of the most entertaining opening weekend's of Six Nations rugby for some time, the best was saved for last as Italy and France battled it out at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, with the hosts taking a famous 23-18 victory.

Italy beat France for just the second time in fourteen meetings between the two sides, showing yet again that they are no longer the whipping boys of the tournament, particularly not at home.

It's been two years since Italy beat France 22-21 in Rome and this was as big an occasion as that famous day, with Sergio Parisse showing yet again why he's considered by some to be the best number eight in world rugby.

Flyhalf Luciano Orquera also had a huge game for the hosts, playing a part in tries for Parisse and Martin Castogiovanni, as well as kicking two conversions, and a penalty and a drop goal.

"I'm really happy for the team and the fans, after two years we've beaten France again in Rome," Orquera said. "We were mentally extremely strong right from the beginning, we wanted to win at any cost and we were always in the match. We never gave up."

Italy join England and Ireland on two points, while Wales and France have it all to do next weekend when they meet at the Stade de France in Paris.

"It's hard to say what went wrong, but you have to congratulate them, they started better than us," said returning French number ten Frederic Michalak, while coach Philippe Saint Andre said that they lacked precision and accuracy. 

"We didn't take advantage of our chances while we were in the lead and the Italians overtook us.

"The first half an hour was bad and the last half an hour was a catastrophe. It hurts but it's only one game. What we have to do now is concentrate on the Wales match on Saturday," he said.

Posted By: Grant Constable

23 Comments

  • frenchie
    10:17 PM 05/02/2013

    @ FelipeG

    totally agree here and some French newspaper said the same: the substitution was wrong; or too early, another negative point of the coaching.


    Maybe i was harsh on Huget but why don't you bring in a real full back, a young player like Butin, move Huget to the wing, move Fofana to the centre where he's week in week out a killer?
    Mermoz is not good enough, Fritz very average. The pair can only run straight, i don't think they off loaded any ball at all...
    Macheneaud is good but i think Parra should start.

    It is a burden to be a French supporter.

    All French players told the press that they will not look for excuses, that Italy played a great game and deserved to win. Hopefully next week they will show us what they can truly do.

  • howardtheduck
    6:12 PM 05/02/2013

    The upcoming weekend is gonna be epic, I can just feel it!

  • howardtheduck
    6:08 PM 05/02/2013

    troll.

  • felipeg
    5:59 PM 05/02/2013

    What do you think of Picamoles getting out? I think he was one of the few french players actually doing something on the field. I guess this is very tiring, but when you have such a determined mind, I think you can go on for 10 or 20 more minutes. I have never played at that level and I don't know what it's like, but it seems to me that replacing the few players that are burning more energy is not a good idea, unless you intend to spare for the next game even if it means losing this one.

  • felipeg
    5:44 PM 05/02/2013

    No offense but I m pretty sure Machenaud - Michalak was not the first time. They played together in Autumn. And I think they showed great skill and understanding then. This time they were not to blame (not more than the rest of the team at least). I have the feeling that, beyond the general lack of stamina and precision, the french suffered mainly from the unclear situation regarding centre/wingers. Fritz can be really good, Mermoz...I m not sure.
    In this context, Huget did quite a good job as full back. I like Butin, but Huget playing full back wasn't the problem here. Bad coaching indeed.
    Frustrating game from France, somehow you could feel they were playing at half capacity.
    I hope the italian won't rest on this victory, thinking they have done the hardest part of the job. Because clearly, they haven't. Any other VI nations team could have won against this french side.
    And I hope les Bleus will take their finger out of their arses and actually catch the ball instead of losing it like they haven't slept for weeks.

  • stubby
    4:38 PM 05/02/2013

    Lack of fitness!? The domestic championship teams use fat players?

  • s_conner
    3:28 PM 05/02/2013

    Italian decision making was much better than I've seen it for a long time - they took the points when they were on offer, were patient and generally kicked quite well, all things which they usually don't quite get right. They did, however, look a little structurally ragged at times when they ran out of steam in attack.

    Nevertheless, they fully deserved their win against a disappointing French side, though they need to replicate that maturity consistently to remain competitive. I hope they can do it.

  • stru
    12:07 PM 05/02/2013

    Try this one..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5tYtr-TvE

  • andyloughranvet
    3:35 AM 05/02/2013

    Ok. I have a few things to say.
    1) why did he play Fofana at 14. Himself & Rougerie are playing great stuff at Clermont together & because of that week in week out playing, they know what the others going to do.
    2)are we (the public) not absolutely spoiled in the 6nations for watching absolutely fantastic No 8's. I mean u go through the 6teams
    Heaslip
    Morgan
    Parisse
    Faletau
    Beattie (or Denton) &
    Picamoles (harinordiquoy before him)
    I mean these are some serious players. As an Irishman, I'll be totally non biased & say that Parisse has to be the best with Picamoles a v close 2nd. Anyone else any opinions??

  • andyloughranvet
    3:35 AM 05/02/2013

    Ok. I have a few things to say.
    1) why did he play Fofana at 14. Himself & Rougerie are playing great stuff at Clermont together & because of that week in week out playing, they know what the others going to do.
    2)are we (the public) not absolutely spoiled in the 6nations for watching absolutely fantastic No 8's. I mean u go through the 6teams
    Heaslip
    Morgan
    Parisse
    Faletau
    Beattie (or Denton) &
    Picamoles (harinordiquoy before him)
    I mean these are some serious players. As an Irishman, I'll be totally non biased & say that Parisse has to be the best with Picamoles a v close 2nd. Anyone else any opinions??

  • joeythelemur
    1:59 AM 05/02/2013

    Watched it online? Pay channel or free feed in the US?

  • frenchie
    1:17 AM 05/02/2013

    Italy deserves all the credit for the victory, they outplayed the French in many areas.
    The French seemed slow, disorganised and made way too many mistakes.

    I don't think this French selection is the best:
    - why put Fofana on the wing when he plays a great rugby for Clermont as a centre?
    Mermoz & Fritz are just average. I think it's time to try a young player with Fofana
    - why put Huget (a winger) as full back? Butin from Clermont should play as full back, Huget on the wing.
    - Scrum/Fly haf: this was the first time machenaud played with Michalak...did it wotk? I would have prefered to have parra alongside Michalak. I think Machenaud needs to learn a bit more and he would make a good substitute in 2nd half.

    Another thing: the coaching was bad, the substitutions were made way too late in the game.

    I have only good things to say about this Italian team. I hope they will have a very good tournament.

  • feddderico
    1:08 AM 05/02/2013

    Im really enjoyed the game and im really happy for the Italian win! They were so happy and showed in the game that they deserve it! Hope they continued playing like that!

    Cheers from Argentina.

  • drg
    12:27 AM 05/02/2013

    Perhaps up until now, Italy have been severely missing a fly half. They've had great players in at 10 who lack in the kicking department, but Orquera seems to have a good pair of kicking boots, so maybe he's the missing key. I hope to see Italy perform with that tenacity and NOW ability in all their games this tournament. I hope for their sake they can stamp out: a) Silly penalties and b) handling errors.

  • kadova
    11:07 PM 04/02/2013

    Another French here.
    First thing i want to say is the Azzuris were brilliant and deserved so much to win.
    I agree with Colombes about the lack of fitness and preparation due to the french domestic championship calendar/number of matches.
    Anyway, the players and coaches stated thed efeat is their own fault, because of a disastrous last half-hour. At 52 min, French were ahead until Castrogiovanni scored his magnificent try.
    Happy for the tournament which is more and more interesting.

  • felipeg
    10:01 PM 04/02/2013

    Neither french nor italian but I ususally stand for both (unless they play against Belgium :-) I think it was a really weird game. Sometimes quite intense. But then so many mistakes. How many handling errors from france in the end? 15? It was already 11 after the first half! So, very nice game from Italy, but imo, this is mainly an accident.

  • cheyanqui
    9:10 PM 04/02/2013

    Thanks to TV5 Monde, I was able to watch this game from my home in the USA.

    BBC America is only showing one match per weekend.

  • lucius
    7:21 PM 04/02/2013


    Their blood is italian

  • 4:50 PM 04/02/2013

    What a game that was. The last five minutes were tense as any I've ever watched. Orquera was awesome, Castro was his usual self, and Parisse again showed why he's the best.

    Think of what this can do for this year's 6N. We have defending champions Wales facing favourites France next weekend and both seem to have their title hopes dashed - both will have fire under their feet. Scotland vs Italy was predicted to be the wooden spoon decider but Italy of course could take it, but Scotland also has some young talent and a new coach, could be an unknown quantity. Although they lost to England I think they showed potential. And England vs Ireland in Dublin could be a title-decider. We could be in for a dramatic reversal of the expected table after the second week alone!

  • stroudos
    3:45 PM 04/02/2013

    Brilliant result - and more importantly brilliant performance - which will benefit world rugby. The style of Italy's win complete validates their inclusion in the tourny and must surely further the case for creating a bona fide second-tier version, which personally I'd like to see feature eight teams, with the top two being promoted to the main event. can't see that ever happening to be honest, but something along those lines just seems more credible now.

    By the way, it's worth noting - with all the chat about Italy finally delivering strong performances to justify their inclusion in the Six Nations - that when France joined the competition it took them at least ten years to actually be competitive. And who would argue that that wasn't worth the wait?

  • pacovidela
    3:28 PM 04/02/2013

    Well done for Italy! It's funny to see that many of the best italian players are actually argentines and they love to beat France!
    On the other side, Picamoles continues with his impressing performance wherever he plays.
    Anyway, it's great to see Italy playing at a high level and certainly closing the gap towards the bigger rugby nations.

  • atrfede
    3:15 PM 04/02/2013

    With tries from Castro & Parisse, and many points from Orquera, Argentina beats France again!

  • guy
    2:10 PM 04/02/2013

    That was one hell of a game to watch, from start to finish. I used to cheer for Italy because they were the underdogs...sunday I cheered because they played some terrific rugby!

    Congrats to Italy, hope to see more of this over the next few weeks.

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