The French XV meets the Italians for its last group match, in Lyon, Friday evening. A well-known Habs team.
The XV of France facing neighbors it knows well. For their last group match of the World Cup, the Blues face Italy, Friday October 6 at 9 p.m., at Groupama Stadium in Lyon. Crushed again by the New Zealanders last Friday (96-17), the Azzurri have not lost hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the World Cup, for the first time in their history.
Italy played the first match in the history of the World Cup
On May 22, 1987, Australian referee Bob Fordhman whistled the very first kick-off of a World Cup match. This pitted New Zealand against Italy. THE Azzurri had the honor of being the first to set foot on the lawn of Eden Park in Auckland (New Zealand), when they were invited with Romania to accompany the teams of the Five Nations Tournament, selected for the World Cup co-organized by New Zealand and Australia.
After 14 minutes of play, the Transalpins conceded their first try and could not put a single foot within 50 meters of their opponents. From the first match, the All Blacks sent the message to the Italians with a 70-6 victory.
The transalpine “French connection”
An Italian selection with a French accent. Among the 33 players on the Italian team, eight play or have played in France, in the Top 14 and in Pro D2. If you regularly follow the French championship, you have surely recognized the winger from Stade Toulousain, Ange Capuozzo and the fly half from Montpellier (MHR), Paolo Garbisi. Grenoble, Perpignan, Paris, Lyon… Transalpine residents have been traveling across France for many decades. In 2019, they were five among the 31 called to share their rugby life between France and Italy.
The list of 18 coaches who have marked the history of the national team is also marked by this “french connection” with eight French coaches at the head of Azzurri. The former winger, Julien Saby opened the way for his compatriots in 1934, until 1937, then from 1951 to 1954. Others like Pierre Berbizier, Pierre Villepreux and Jacques Brunel also tried it, but only the The former full-back of the XV of France sang the famous Fratelli d’Italia anthem for more than three years (2011-2016).
Sergio Parisse, the emblematic former captain at the atypical end of his career
“I’m overwhelmed, that’s all.” These are the words of Sergio Parisse, the man with 142 caps for Italy, to the newspaper The Team on September 27. At 40, the former third row ended his sporting career at the end of the 2022/2023 season, with his last club, RC Toulon. The former captain of the Squadra Azzurra hoped to wear the azure jersey one last time by playing in a sixth and final World Cup but the coach, Kieran Crowley, decided otherwise. His last memory in the World Cup will therefore remain that of October 10, 2019, the day when World Rugby canceled the match between Italy and New Zealand due to the passage of Typhoon Hagibis in Japan.
An incredible episode which eliminated the Transalpines on the green carpet. Sergio Parrise will therefore have remained stuck forever at the group stage. With 106 defeats in 142 matches, he is the biggest “loser” in his sport. A record of which he is not ashamed today, because the giant (1.96m) has left his mark on world rugby and believes, in the columns of The Team, that it is a “privilege of having played in five World Cups”. VSconsidered one of the best number 8s in the world, he is a symbol of resilience. The world of oval football will remember his charisma and his slaughter. For him, today’s selection will fight to finally reach the quarter-finals.