Italy: The Blues warn of the “wounded beast”

With the Round of 16 against Italy approaching, the French national team has become very cautious. Facing this opponent, who is still losing to New Zealand (96-17), Fabien Galthier and his players refuse to show any sign of superiority…

With the Round of 16 against Italy approaching, the French national team has become very cautious. In front of this competitor, who is still losing to New Zealand (96-17), Fabien Galthier and his players refuse to show any sign of superiority, while they praise the Squadra. The French coach confirmed: “They are Latins whom we know well.” Over the past four years, we have faced them five times. This is an injured team. This is far from being the biggest difficulty we have had to face. They are playing a game where they have everything to gain. »

The French camp is convinced that the Italians will show a completely different face on Friday in Lyon. “We didn’t dwell too much on their match against the Lions because we are sure they will be keen to show another level of commitment,” explains Blues captain Charles Ollivon. I think there will be a lot less missed tackles, that’s clear. “We have to be serious for 80 minutes because it will be a difficult match.”

When a Trans-Alpine journalist pointed out in a press conference that the Squadra were not relying on their best first line in the absence of hooker Giacomo Nicotera and the left column of Simone Ferrari remaining on the right of the scrum, Beto Movaca, the French hooker did not fall into the trap either. He replied: “We have to respect them.” “We worked for two weeks to be ready to win, regardless of the players we face.”

Championship souvenir

The Blues know the danger of looking down on any opponent, as with their bruising performance against Uruguay in their Group B match. If they rely on their “super” team this time, the opponent will be of a different caliber than the Tyros. Especially since he had already complicated their lives several times in recent years. They were not far from the defeat against Roma last February during the Six Nations Championship (24-29). “It was very difficult for us,” recalls Fabien Galthier, who spent more time debriefing this meeting than the Italians’ defeat to the New Zealanders.

“We know the attacking style of play in Italy with fairly quick strikes, and a lot of movement,” sums up Blues midfielder Jonathan Dante. The fact that they put Ange Capuzzo back is also due to his qualities of pace and passing. Italy presented its best team. But we have something to answer for. “It will be interesting.”