Monday, February 6, 2012

France 30 - Italy 12


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France sprint past impressive Italy

Scenes from the opening match of the 6 Nations 2012 rugby tournament featuring France vs Italy. The tournament, which was held at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, saw France playing in white and Italy in blue.
( February 5, 2012 - Photo by PacificCoastNews.com)
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Tournament favourites France got their 2012 Six Nations campaign off to an ideal start on Saturday with a 30-12 victory over Italy in Paris.
Philippe Saint-André's team ran four tries past their visitors for a comfortable win although the scoreboard belies the quality of the Italian performance.
Indeed, Italy dominated possession and territory in the first half but France held a 15-6 lead at the break thanks to two well-taken tries from Aurélien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu.
The scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes but Les Bleus pounced on their only two opportunities while Italy failed to finish off a number of promising build-ups.

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Man of the match: Louis Picamoles justified the new French staff's confidence in him with impressive display but we agree with the official gong for Julien Malzieu, who looked a dangerous whenever the ball found it's way to his wing.
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Moment of the match: The jury was unanimous here - Julien Malzieu's try just before half-time will go down as a candidate for Try of the Year. Not only was it a fantastic solo effort from the big wing (and Louis Picamoles's work to create it was equally good) but it gave France an 11-point lead and dented the visitors' morale.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_7483784,00.html 
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http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/matchcentre/20098.php
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