A spirited performance saw Italy win their first match of this year's Six Nations at a sunny Stadio Flaminio in Rome, leaving Marc Lievremont's position in charge of France in doubt.
First Half
Having been viewed as underdogs in the build up to the match, it was the Azzuri that started the match as the better side as they took the lead after only 2 minutes of play when French captain Thierry Dusautoir conceded a penalty after he was caught offside inside his own 22. Mirco Bergamasco scored the penalty giving the home side an early lead. (Italy 3-0 France)
Italy's intense start was brought to a halt on the 15 minute mark when France scored the game's first try. Following a great spell of pressure from the Italians, Francois Trinh Duc intercepted the ball and set up an attack for his side. Full back Maxime Medard showed great skill to offload the ball to Dusatoir, giving the French a great opportunity to shift the ball over to the left hand side of the field which they did to great success as Vincent Clerc chipped the ball over Gonzalo Canale and used his pace to score the try. (Italy 3-5 France) Morgan Parra misses the conversion. (Italy 3-5 France)
After 20 minutes, France had the opportunity to add to their points tally when Martin Castrogiovanni was the victim of a great French scrum and consequently conceded a penalty which Morgan Parra converted. (Italy 3-8 France)
Only minutes later, Gonzalo Canale showed great speed to burst through the French defence but he was eventually tackled by Aurelien Rougerie who failed to roll away from the tackle and conceded the penalty. Mirco Bergamasco scored his second penalty kick of the match. (Italy 6-8 France)
Just after the half hour mark, France had a chance to restore their 5 point lead after Vincent Clerc put great pressure on Italian full back Andrea Masi and the Italians were subsequently penalised for joining the ruck from the side. However, Morgan Parra's kick struck the post and the home side were eventually able to clear to remain within 2 points of the away side.
Half Time- Italy 6-8 France
Second Half
Both sides came flying out in the second half but it was France who the scored the first points after the restart when Morgan Parra converted a penalty after Martin Castrogiovanni failed to release the ball after being tackled. (Italy 6-11 France)
It took until the 50th minute of the game for France to finally get themselves into a commanding position when Trinh Duc skipped through the Italian defence with ease, subsequently finding Morgan Parra's darting run to his left. (Italy 6-16 France) It was Parra himself that converted the try. (Italy 6-18 France)
The next 10 minutes saw Bergamasco fail with 2 penalty kicks but on the 59th minute mark the Azzuri scored their first try of the game through full back Andrea Masi after some great work from Tommaso Bienvenuti. (Italy 11-18 France) After failing with his 2 previous kicks, Bergamasco converted the try, giving the home fans at the Stadio Flaminio a huge lift. (Italy 13-18 France)
3 minutes later and with the wind in their sails, Italy got to within 2 points of France when Bergamasco converted another penalty to set up an intense ending to the final 15 minutes of the game.
After enduring a long period of great pressure from the home side, France were able to continue to add points to the board when Morgan Parra scored a penalty after Italian number 3 Castrogiovanni failed to release the ball after being tackled by Dusatoir. (Italy 16-21 France)
Shortly after the restart and with the Italians attacking strongly, captain Sergio Parisse remained composed to show great skill to offload the ball to Bergamasco and the French conceded the penalty after their tacklers failed to roll away after taking down the number 11. Bergamasco converted the penalty. (Italy 19-21 France)
The home crowd continued to roar on their team and their encouragement was rewarded after 75 minutes when Italy took the lead for the first time in the game when France's Yoann Huget needlessly carried the ball into touch from Kris Burton's clearing kick. With France in a poor defensive position, Bergamasco took the lineout quickly and Luc Ducalcon was caught in an offside position to concede the penalty which Bergamasco scored. (Italy 22-21 France)
France now had no option but to attack, however, the Italian defence held firm for the final 5 minutes of the game and they went on to win their first match of the 2011 Six Nations Tournament.
Full Time- Italy 22-21 France
Man of the Match- Andrea Masi (Italy)
Italy:
Tries: Andrea Masi (1)
Conversions: Mirco Bergamasco (1)
Penalties: Mirco Bergamasco (5)
France:
Tries: Morgan Parra (1), Vincent Clerc (1)
Conversions: Morgan Parra (1)
Penalties: Morgan Parra (3)
