Villiere lights it up as France open with bonus point win over resilient Italy

France 37 Italy 10

The French expression ‘comme ci, comme ça’ springs to mind when describing the home side’s bonus point victory over Italy at the Stade de France. Taking the performance in its entirety it was neither good nor bad, but there were enough glimpses of the traditional French rugby values to focus Irish minds ahead of their trip to Paris next Saturday.

France scored five tries, a hat-trick for diminutive left wing Gabin Villière, while the elegant Damian Penaud and hard-working Anthony Jelonch also crossed the Italian line. Fullback Melvyn Jaminet kicked two penalties and a brace of conversions while a generally subdued Romain Ntamack also landed a conversion.

Torrential rain in the first half made handling a greasy ball and sodden surface very difficult and that was reflected in the number of errors and there’s little doubt that it curtailed the French sense of adventure. The home side kicked a great deal and for the most part not particularly well with an out of sorts Antoine Dupont, a surprising culprit.

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The French captain and scrumhalf had just one game for Toulouse since recovering from injury and more recently Covid-19 and that ring rust was evident in not just his kicking but handling and at times decision-making, although it’s unlikely that he’ll be similarly off colour two matches in succession.

France lacked fluency at times, forcing passes and offloads that were far removed from percentage plays in the challenging conditions. A lack of care in possession, allied to the way that Italy applied themselves in defence, rendered the home side rather ordinary for most of the half, and were it not for two gifts, France might have trailed at the interval.

Jelonch snapped up a loose pass from Italian scrumhalf Stephen Varney to stroll over, while Italy gave away a silly penalty for sealing off at a ruck in their 22, a precursor to Villiere’s opening try in first half injury time: the gift wrapped 12 points allowed the home side an 18-10 interval lead.

One aspect of the French performance that remained consistent from first to final whistle was their power game, in winning collisions, in counter-rucks that forced several turnovers and when suitably focused in the scrum, and in stopping Italian carriers at the point of contact.

The home side were sharp at the breakdown in sniffing turnover opportunities; Ireland forewarned. Italy did exploit some gaps on the fringes, France occasionally threadbare in their rush to defend further out.

France got up aggressively and quickly into Italy’s passing channels putting pressure on the passer and forcing errors; albeit that Italian outhalf Paolo Garbisi did find some grass with a couple of dinks over the top. French defence coach Shaun Edwards has made a huge difference in that capacity and knows a thing or two about shutting down the Irish attack.

There was a clear designation of workloads, Dylan Cretin and Cameron Woki, the latter playing in the secondrow, preferred lineout options, Paul Willemse Uini Atonio and Jelonch, the muscle on the gainline while outstanding hooker Julien Marchand, Cyrille Baile and Grégory Alldritt were very effective at both breaking the first tackle and getting the ball away in contact.

The French halfbacks were more influential in the second half - the rain had largely stopped at this point - and as a result there was a little more zip to the backline patterns. Villiere (2) and Penaud crossed for tries, accomplished footballers, who, given a millimetre of space, punished the Italians.

Centre Jonathan Danty’s power was employed relentlessly from first phase, often on a line taking him on the inside of the outhalf. Fullback Melvyn Jaminet boasts a prodigious boot so Ireland will need to be judicious in how and when they kick.

The Italians never really stressed France defensively, that power deficiency in contact meant that they had to commit too many numbers to rucks. In creative terms they lacked a little imagination and ostensibly tired long before the final whistle.

The try originated from a French error but was finished brilliantly by debutant Tommaso Menoncello, one of four in the team, from Garbisi’s cross-kick.

There is no doubt that despite the handicap of just a six day turnaround the performance edges will be smoothed and buffed and given conditions conducive to running rugby they will be a much more formidable proposition. But on the evidence of this weekend Ireland can travel to Paris is expectation rather than hope.

Scoring sequence - 4 mins: Jaminet penalty, 3-0; 17: Menoncello try, Garbisi conversion, 3-7; 25: Jelonch try, 8-7; 29: Garbisi penalty, 8-10; 33: Jaminet penalty, 11-10; 40(+1): Villiere try, Jaminet conversion, 18-10. Half-time: 18-10. 48: Villiere try, 23-10; 67: Penaud try, Jaminet conversion, 30-10; 80(+1): Villiere try, Ntamack conversion, 37-10.

France: M Jaminet; D Penaud, G Fickou, J Danty, G Villière; R Ntamack, A Dupont (capt); C Baille, J Marchand, U Atonio; C Woki, P Willemse; A Jelonch, D Cretin, G Alldritt. Replacements: JB Gros for Baille 50 mins; D Bamba for Atonio 50 mins; R Taofifénua for Willemse 55 mins; P Mauvaka for Marchand 57 mins; Y Moefana for Danty 57 mins; F Cros for Alldritt 69 mins; M Lucu for Dupont 69 mins; T Ramos for Jaminet 74 mins.

Italy: E Padovani; T Menoncello, J Ignacio Brex, M Zanon, M Ioane; P Garbisi, S Varney; D Fishetti, G Lucchesi, T Pasquali; N Cannone, F Ruzza; S Negri, M Lamaro (capt), T Halafihi. Replacements: E Faiva for Lucchesi 50 mins; G Zilocchi for Pasquali 50 mins; M Fuser for Cannone 50 mins; I Nemer for Fishetti 50 mins; G Pettinelli for Halafihi 55 mins; L Marin for Menoncello 57 mins; C Braley for Varney 65 mins; M Zuliani for Negri 69 mins.

Referee: M Adamson (Scotland).