At the Olimpico against France a merciless result

The French national team had come to Rome with a simple objective in mind: to win by a large score and collect the bonus point needed to keep their ambitions alive. The matter was taken care of in half an hour of play, just over a third of the match. By the 30th minute, the Gallics had scored their fourth try and were ahead 28 to 17. And although the two fine tries by Menoncello (10') and Brex (28') had given the illusion that Italy had some chance of holding their own, the feeling that the French would have a fine afternoon in Rome was more than evident.

The final score, 73 to 24, is harsh and merciless. “It hurts,” Gonzalo Quesada admitted in a press conference, because with a gap of that size “you lose the positive things,” including the beautiful plays in hand, never banal but not enough to scratch a French predominance that was total. Eleven tries to three, that’s the figure and it leaves on the pitch of the Olimpico a lot of blue-tinted rubble that now needs to be picked up and put back in order. The XV de France imposed its strength, its technical values, its power and its beautiful game. Antoine Dupont, its star player, was once again prodigious for its technical quality and versatility. The third row Alldritt-Boudehent-Cros towered in the rucks and at the meeting points. The entire pack, strong of the over 30 kilos of difference compared to the Italian one, impressed. French flair and aggression, a deadly combination that found perfect interpreters on the pitch on Sunday.

For the record, the match report records, in addition to the three Italian tries (Menoncello in the 10th minute, Brex in the 28th minute, Paolo Garbisi in the 60th minute), the braces of Guillard (13' and 21'), Dupont (24' and 53'), Barré (39' and 65') and the tries of Boudehent ((30'), Alldritt (45'), Bielle-Biarrey (50'), Attissogbé (76') and Barassi (79').

The question that many asked themselves after watching the match is whether the difference in technical values ​​is such as to justify those 49 points of difference that for the Azzurri constitute the worst defeat ever suffered in 26 editions of the tournament. The answer is that Italy is not (yet) in the condition to withstand a rugby played at such a pace, with such overwhelming intensity. If you put it on that level with the Galletti, if you accept the challenge of the aggressive game, there is no match and those eleven tries are all there.

The fate of the tournament will most likely be decided in a fortnight in Dublin, with the challenge between league leaders Ireland and France. On Saturday, the reigning champions won the Triple Crown by defeating (27-18) in Cardiff a Welsh national team that appeared to be recovering after the poor performances of the first two days. In London, however, one of the most exciting Calcutta Cups took place, ending with just one point of difference (16-15) in favor of the English. Three Scottish tries, the result of a sparkling game finalized by its three-quarters of the highest caliber, (White, Jones, Van de Merwe) against a single try (Freeman) by the English. The match was decided by the disastrous day of Finn Russell, the highest paid rugby player in the world, who missed all three conversions available (one would have been enough), condemning his team to the most bitter of defeats. The English therefore find themselves still in the running: they will play their next match at home against Italy before going to Cardiff to challenge the Welsh on the final day.

Ranking: Ireland 14; France 11; England 10; Scotland 6; Italy 4; Wales 1.