Rome: Coach Philippe Saint-Andre refused to be drawn on France’s chances of snatching the Six Nations title after a 29-0 win over Italy on Sunday boosted lagging confidence ahead of next week’s finale against England.
France face England at Twickenham next Saturday looking to cause an upset, and hoping results elsewhere go their way, as they bid for a first title since 2010.
However, France’s rivals — England, Ireland and Wales — would beg to differ after a game that will likely go down as one of the worst in recent Six Nations history.
France travelled to the Italian capital looking to reclaim the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy having lost to the Azzurri on their two previous visits to Rome.
Yoann Maestri, in the 45th minute following a great attacking move by full-back Scott Spedding, and Mathieu Bastareaud, at the death, ran in the only tries of the game as France ran out deserved winners.
It was far from beautiful rugby at a cold and rain-hit Stadio Olimpico, but the result left France third in the table, two points adrift of leaders England (6), Ireland (6) and Wales (6) ahead of next week’s decisive fixtures.
France’s defence, which has conceded only two tries in four games, remains their strong point. But, on this performance, England’s lively backs will fancy rewriting those statistics.
Saint-Andre admitted his side’s performance was par from perfect. But he insisted it had answered critics of a team that, with only a handful of games scheduled before this autumn’s World Cup, has yet to fill fans with promise.
“Today I saw a real team out there, in terms of the effort put in, our ambition and our defence,” said Saint-Andre.
“You can’t dismiss Italy, they’re a great side, they showed that when they went and beat Scotland two weeks ago.
“Of course it wasn’t perfect, but today we have to look on the positives. We tried to wear them down in the first half and in the second we showed a little more quality.
“We won, we scored two tries and we kicked not too shabbily. Now we have to knuckle down and get ready for England.”
