2009 Six Nations Preview: Italy vs. France

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Editor

Time: Saturday, 13:15 GMT
Venue: Stadio Flaminio, Rome
Referee: Allain Rolland
Weather: Mild, sunny

France and Italy meet in Rome for a dead rubber on Saturday, with pride and the job security of management the two major issues at stake. Both Nick Mallet and Marc Lievremont have presided over erratic Six Nations campaigns and are facing growing unrest amongst supporters and administrators alike.

Backs to the Wall
Nick Mallet’s Italy have endured their worst Six Nations campaign in years, but showed glimmers of promise against Wales on Saturday. If Mallet’s tenure at the helm of Italy is to continue, the Italians will have to build significantly on the improvements in their game last week and score a historic first Six Nations win against France.

Les Miserables
France, meanwhile, could conceivably lose their match against Italy tomorrow given their capacity to alternate between sublime and dreadful rugby from one week to the next.

France was handed its biggest thrashing since the battle of Waterloo at Twickenham less week, and only the French know whether they will respond to this injustice by popping the cork on some champagne rugby or turning up to watch the Italians make history.

Players to Watch
Italy: Sergio Parisse has been the player of the tournament for Italy, and if his team are to pull off a historic victory over France in Rome tomorrow, his performance and leadership will be key.

France: Marc Lievremont has taken the unprecedented decision not to tinker with the team that lost to England last week. Julien Bonnaire returns at flank, joining Thierry Dusautoir and Sebastian Chabal in a deadly looking back row.

Six Nations Betting
France have been handed a 14 point handicap for tomorrow’s Six Nations match. With Italian pride at stake, and the side showing signs of improvement, Nick Mallet’s men would back themselves to prevent France from running away with the victory by more than 14 points.

Handicap Betting	Price
France -14	1/1
Italy +14	1/1
Handicap Tie (France -14)	16/1
Rugby Betting at Bet365

Italy: 15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Giulio Rubini, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Paul Griffen, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Martin Castrogiovanni, 18 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 19 Josh Sole, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Roberto Quartaroli.

France: 15 Damien Traille, 14 Maxime Medard, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, 5 Sebastien Chabal, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements: 16 William Servat, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Jerome Thion, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Frederic Michalak, 21 Mathieu Bastareaud, 22 Julien Malzieu.