The French XV plays its third match of the Six Nations Tournament against Italy, Sunday February 25 in Lille, at 4 p.m. (to be followed on France 2 and france.tv). Beaten in the opening by Ireland (17-38) then authors of a narrow victory in Scotland (20-16), the Blues must pull themselves together against Italy.
Maintain hope
Mathematically, France can still win the Six Nations Tournament. But the mission is delicate, because the Blues depend on Ireland and must pray for a double misstep from the undisputed leader of this Tournament (15 points) in his last two matches. For its part, the XV of France will have to be a hit. This will require an improved victory (four tries or more) against Italy.
Alldritt and Bielle-Biarrey fill the infirmary
The Blues lost two starting players at the start of the Tournament, and not the least. The “savior” of the match in Scotland Louis Bielle-Biarrey (strain) and captain Grégory Alldritt (leg) are out, replaced respectively by Matthis Lebel and Paul Boudehent. They join the long list of absentees, including Thibaud Flament, Emmanuel Meafou, Anthony Jelonch, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
An Italy, which Italy?
Beaten in its first two matches (24-27 against England, 0-36 in Ireland), Italy seems a step below the Blues. The Squadra Azzurra is at the beginning of a new cycle, embodied by coach Gonzalo Quesada (ex-Stade Français). The Italians remain on 14 defeats against France and have never won in France in the Tournament.