France 34 Italy 17: Hugo Bonneval bounces back as Les Bleus end 343-day wait for Test win

France 34 Italy 17: Hugo Bonneval bounces back as Les Bleus end 343-day wait for Test win
Hugo Bonneval scores France's second try in Marseille on Friday night Credit:  Getty Images

France ended their 343-day wait for a Test win by overcoming Italy at the Stade Velodrome, as second-half tries by Hugo Bonneval and Mathieu Bastareaud along with Maxime Machenaud’s 17-point haul paved the way for victory.

Attacking line-outs misfiring, dropped scoring passes; exceptional moments were of short supply in this laboured effort.

France, so wasteful despite a  catalogue of promising moments, cannot afford to be so frivolous with opportunities when Eddie Jones and England come to Paris in a fortnight. This was a bonus-point win for France that went begging, as the hosts scored three tries and yet should have had six or seven.

Aside from the exceptional pair of flanker Yacouba Camara, replaced far too early, and centre Bastareaud on his return from suspension, France were beset by basic errors at key moments. But at least coach Jacques Brunel has ended the eight-game run without a Test win.

Lionel Beauxis, a place holder at fly-half after Matthieu Jalibert’s knee injury three weeks ago against Ireland, embodied his side’s night with another erratic performance.

This fixture saw the French Rugby Federation break new ground by hosting a Six Nations match away from the Stade de France for the first time, but low skill levels killed both teams.

Mathieu Bastareaud of France is tackled by Maxime Mbanda and Tommaso Castello of Italy
Mathieu Bastareaud receives some Italian attention in Marseille  Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Brunel had been left with no choice but to drop the Six Nations top try scorer in Teddy Thomas along with eight other players after their late-night overexuberance in Edinburgh. Thomas might have been missing but France found an alternative way to create tries,  consecutive early mauls scattering Italy’s pack in the build-up to Paul Gabrillagues crashing over for the opening score after five minutes.

Italy’s response was to fight fire with fire. Having opted against a kickable penalty next it was the Azzurri’s pack clattering their way over, with a score initially awarded to Maxime Mbanda before being upgraded to a penalty try after a  review to put Italy ahead 7-5.

Remi Lamerat was another of those axed by Brunel, and on the evidence of Bastareaud’s first game since serving a three-match ban Lamerat may struggle to get back in. It was Bastareaud who released flanker Wenceslas Lauret into an almighty hole, only for Lauret to squander a substantial overlap as Italy’s defence just about survived.

The home side’s pressure eventually produced more points and the lead after Italy gave up successive penalties, Machenaud chipping over two before the half-time break for an 11-7 advantage.

Boos and jeers were inevitable after Camara and Bastareaud combined to create a three-on-one that was appalling wasted by Beauxis and Geoffrey Doumayrou; France forced again to settle for points from Machenaud’s boot. They eventually did execute – Bastareaud showing superb strength to release Bonneval whose one-two with Remy Grosso led to the full-back coasting over for France’s second try.

Machenaud’s boot and a deserved Bastareaud score finally put the game out of reach, before France blew their final shot at a bonus point with the game’s final play, held up in the tackle a few metres from Italy’s line.

There have been suggestions in the opening three games that Italy’s demoralising wait for a win in the championship is almost over. Yet those hints of a revival are at the moment being overshadowed by the Azzurri’s current run of 15 straight Six Nations defeats, after yet more misery in Marseille.

Match details

Scoring sequence:  5-0 (Paul Gabrillagues try), 5-7 (Penalty Try Italy), 8-7 (Maxime Machenaud penalty), 11-7 (Machenaud penalty); half-time; 14-7 (Machenaud penalty), 14-10 (Tommaso Allan penalty), 19-10 (Remy Grosso try), 21-10 (Machenaud conversion), 24-10 (Machenaud penalty), 27-10 (Machenaud penalty), 32-10 (Mathieu Bastareaud try), 34-10 (Francois Trinh-Duc conversion), 34-15 (Matteo Minozzi try), 34-17 (Carlo Canna conversion).

France: H Bonneval, B Fall, M Bastareaud, G Doumayrou, R Grosso, L Beauxis, M Machenaud; J Poirot, G Guirado (capt), R Slimani, P Gabrillagues, S Vahaamahina, W Lauret, Y Camara, M Tauleigne.
Replacements: A Pelissie, D Priso, CGomes Sa, R Taofifenua, K Galletier, B Couilloud, F Trinh-Duc, G Fickou.
Italy: M Minozzi, T Benvenuti, T Boni, T Castello, M Bellini, T Allan, M Violi; A Lovotti, L Ghiraldini, S Ferrari, A Zanni, D Budd, S Negri, M Mbanda’, S Parisse (capt).
Replacements L Bigi, N Quaglio, T Pasquali, G Biagi, F Ruzza, E Gori, C Canna, J Hayward.
Referee Wayne Barnes (England).

                                                                                                    

Full-time! France 34 - 17 Italy

France are unable to get their bonus point, but it is certainly a step in the right direction as they get their first win of the 2018 Six Nations.

 

83 mins - YELLOW CARD BIGI! France 34 - 17 Italy

A deliberate knock-on from Bigi to prevent France from scoring.

81 mins - France 34 - 17 Italy

Italy penalised for not rolling away. France opt to tap-and-go just five metres away from the Italian try-line as they search for a bonus point.

79 mins - CONVERSION MINOZZI! France 34 - 17 Italy

Minozzi picks himself up and kicks over for the conversion. 

78 mins - TRY MINOZZI! France 34 - 15 Italy

Italy break away and Minozzi runs over. That came out of nowhere.

He has certainly impressed tonight...

 

74 mins - CONVERSION TRINH-DUC! France 34 - 10 Italy

Francois Trinh-Duc has replaced Macheraud and registers another two points for the hosts.

73 mins - BASTAREAUD TRY! France 32 - 10 Italy 

I did say France have average 32 points in their nine home Six Nations matches against Italy, didn't I?

Three Italians cannot stop Bastareaud from diving to the line.

 

71 mins - PENALTY MACHENAUD! France 27 - 10 Italy

The crowd are disappointed, but France opt to kick for an easy three-points. France will now surely end a run of eight matches without victory. 

Italy are ringing the changes, but it is likely too little too late.

69 mins - France 24 - 10 Italy

France are growing in confidence. They sense the Italians are tired and are 10 metres from the opposition try-line.

France celebrate Bonneval's try

 

65 mins - PENALTY MASTERAUD! France 24 - 10 Italy

Another penalty for Masteraud, Italy are tiring and this deficit could continued to widen...

France's second try of the match

 

61 mins - CONVERSION MASTERAUD! France 21 - 10 Italy

Another solid kick from Masteraud. France again have breathing space. They average over 32 points against Italy in Six nations home matches, can they do it again tonight?

 

60 mins - TRY BONNEVAL! France 19 - 10 Italy

Excellent from Bastareaud once more. He commits multiple defenders before an excellent inside pass from Beauxis allows Bonneval to run over.

57 mins - France 14 - 10 Italy

Italy take an age to move the ball from the ruck and France force the turnover.

57 mins - France 14 - 10 Italy

Negri breaks through the defensive line but lacks the support. Italy still have the ball deep in French half, though.

55 mins - France 14 - 10 Italy

Awesome from Bellini to rip the ball from Fall, his kick is not bad either, forcing France to clear for touch on halfway.

53 mins - France 14 - 10 Italy

Italy are trying to up the tempo but they knock the ball on just inside France's half. French scrum.

Bastareaud is a beast

Bastareaud has proven tonight to have been a sore miss for France. Italy are struggling to cope with the sheer force of the 20-stone centre.

50 mins - PENALTY ALLAN! France 14 - 10

The crowd in Marseille are unhappy as they felt their was a knock-on, but Italy are awarded the penalty and Allan kicks over.

46 mins - PENALTY MACHENAUD! France 14 - 7 Italy

Machenaud duly delivers. France finally have some breathing space.

 

44 mins - France 11 - 7 Italy

Beauxis attempts a drop-goal but misses badly. France, however, had the advantage and Machenaud will have a relatively simple kick in front of the posts.

43 mins - France 11 - 7 Italy

Yet another opportunity missed for France. Beauxis with the poor pass, he had three team-mates to pick out. A good pass and France would have scored their second try of the match.

41 mins - France 11 - 7 Italy

We are back under way.

Teams back out

Another 40 minutes like the first half, please.

 

France 11 - 7 Italy

And breathe...

A high-tempo, thoroughly entertaining half of rugby. France squandered at least a couple of try opportunities and Italy will feel fortunate to trailing by only four points.

We are well-set for the second-half, with both nations looking to record their first win of the Six Nations.

HALF-TIME - France 11 - 7 Italy

A high-tempo, frantic first period comes to an end.

 

40 mins -  PENALTY MACHENAUD! France 11 - 7 Italy

Machenaud kicks through the posts just before the break.

39 mins - France 8 - 7 Italy

Excellent work again from Bastareaud, rips the ball off an Italian, passes to Fall, whose low kick causes all sorts of problems and France win another penalty. 

36 mins - France 8 - 7 Italy

For all of France's pressure, they lead by just a single point. You get the feeling that Italy will be quietly pleased so far. Meanwhile, they have the ball on halfway.

34 mins - France 8 - 7 Italy

Italy are forced to kick from their own 22. They have a line-out on halfway, but France win the ball back.

34 mins - France 8 - 7 Italy 

France win a penalty deep in the Italy half. They opt to go quickly but Bastareaud cannot gather cleanly, otherwise it was a try.

32 mins - France 8 - 7 Italy

A pause in play as a scrum on the halfway line has to be reset twice.

27 mins - PENALTY MACHENAUD! France 8 - 7 Italy

Stout defending from Italy but France are rewarded for their persistence with a simple penalty kick for Machenaud.

26 mins - France 5 - 7 Italy

A fantastic counter-ruck from France and they win the penalty just outside the Italy 22. Surely both sides cannot maintain this tempo?

25 mins -France 5 - 7 Italy 

Handbags. France stop the quick line-out from Italy, who take exception.

 

24 mins - France 5 - 7 Italy 

Italy put France under pressure, forcing Fall into a poor kick into touch. Italy line-out just outside of the opposition 22.

22 mins - France 5 - 7 Italy

France have a scrum just inside their own half. A lot of their play is going through Bastareaud, who takes some stopping.

19 mins - France 5 - 7 Italy

France are virtually on Italy's try-line again but an errant pass allows the Italians to clear their lines.

18 minutes - France 5 - 7 Italy

An excellent catch among a crowd of bodies from Fall puts the French on the front foot again.

16 mins - France 5 - 7 Italy

France are pushing again. Bastareaud pushes hard towards the line but is penalised. Italy clear their lines, much needed respite for the visitors. Opportunity missed for France.

10 mins - France 5 - 7 Italy

Due to the penalty try, Italy are automatically awarded the conversion.

10 mins - TRY ITALY! France 5 - 7 Italy

A strong Italian maul gets them over the line. After some deliberation between the referee and the TMO, Italy are awarded a penalty try.

 

9 minutes - Penalty Italy

It has been a frantic start to the match. Italy opt to kick for touch and have a line-out 10 metres from the French try-line.

7 mins - MISSED CONVERSION

Machenaud misses a difficult kick from the right-hand touchline.

6 mins TRY! France 5 Italy 0

Gabrillagues scores early for France.

 

3 mins - Penalty to France

Good work from Bastareaud to earn a penalty for his side. France kick for touch and they have the line-out in Italy's half.

Solid start for France

France, as predicted, have started with real intent. Italy have the ball, though they are deep in their own half.

Kick-off 

We are under way! 

 

 

The hosts blast out their national anthem

It's very noisy in Marseille. This is a big night for France and it really has that feel to it.

 

The teams are out

 Italy passionately sing their national anthem.

 

They are wearing their traditional kit - blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks.

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STATS

- Italy have won just three of the 40 meetings between the two nations.

- France have won all nine of their home Six Nations matches against Italy.

-  France have averaged over 32 points in those nine matches, so let's hope we will see plenty of action tonight.

- The visitors have lost 14-straight Six Nations games. Their last win came back in 2015, when they overcame Scotland 22-19.

The preview

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 Watch The Telegraph's preview of  this weekend's round of matches...

Weir meets Greenwood

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Earlier in the week, The Telegraph's Doddie Weir met up with former England star Will Greenwood. Click here to read what they got up to.

What has been said?

Conor O'Shea: "In Dublin in the first half we did not do what we expected but it is important for us on Friday to learn from our mistakes and show our game-plan, show off our rugby throughout the game.

"For us, Friday is a new opportunity. We must focus on ourselves and I hope we can offer ourselves and our fans a performance to be proud of."

Jacques Brunel: "We're playing Italy amid particular circumstances, we can't hide that, with recent defeats weighing on us.

"Those who are coming into the side have an opportunity to stake their claim. Circumstances have given them the chance to stake a claim. I'm expecting them to show initiative and enthusiasm."

Tonight's officials

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Touch judges: John Lacey (Ireland) & Luke Pearce (England)

TMO: David Grashoff (England)

A look inside Italy's changing room

 

Where are we?

For those that did not know, this will be the first time that France are playing a Six Nations match outside of Paris, with tonight's game taking place at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

Bastareaud returns

France welcome back Mathieu Bastareaud from a three-week suspension for verbally abusing another player. He goes straight into the side at centre.

Les Bleus are without a win in eight matches, a run stretching back to March of last year, when they beat Wales 20-18. 

Italy team news

 

Italy have also started their Six Nations with back-to-back defeats, including a 56-19 thrashing by Ireland last time out.

They make three changes and will start with a XV that includes four Tomassos; Benvenuti, Boni, Castello and Allan. 

Mbanda, Ghiraldini and Lovotti are the three added to the line-up.

Welcome

Good evening everyone, welcome to our coverage of the NatWest Six Nations match between France and Italy.

It is an important fixture, with both nations suffering defeats in their opening two matches. 

France have certainly not had the best of preparations as they look to win their first match of the 2018 Six Nations campaign. Jacques Brunel, the France head coach, has made five changes to his starting XV after eight players were dropped from the match day squad for "inappropriate behaviour". 

That came after a night out following the 32-26 defeat in Scotland. That result proceeded a heartbreaking loss at home to Ireland, as Johnny Sexton's injury-time drop-goal secured the win for Ireland.

We'll begin our build-up in earnest from 7pm, but until then here's a reminder of the starting XVs for both sides:

France: Hugo Bonneval, Benjamin Fall, Mathieu Bastareaud, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Remy Grosso, Lionel Beauxis, Maxime Machenaud; Yefferson Poirot, Guilhem Guirado (C), Rabah Slimani, Paul Gabrillagues, Sebastien Vahaamahina, Wenceslas Lauret, Yacouba Camara.

Replacements: Adrien Pelissie, Danny Priso, Cedate Gomes Sa, Romain Taofifenua, Kelian Galletier, Baptiste Couilloud, Francois Trinh-Duc, Gael Fickou.

Italy: Matteo Minozzi, Tomasso Benvenuti, Tomasso Boni, Tomasso Castello, Mattia Bellini, Tomasso Allan, Marcello Violi; Andrea Lovotti, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Simone Ferrari, Alessandro Zanni, Dean Budd, Sebastien Negri, Maxime Mbanda.  

Replacements: Luca Bigi, Nicola Quaglio, Tizano Pasquali, George Biagi, Federico Ruzza, Edoardo Gori, Carlo Canni, Jayden Hayward.

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