19 March 2009, 12:55 pm ::
Match Preview by Justin Goulding
Italy v France
France have reacted to their heavy defeat to England last weekend by making four changes in personnel to their starting XV for Saturday's RBS 6 Nations Championship match against Italy in Rome.
Damien Traille, who will play at full-back, and centre Florian Fritz return behind the scrum, while flanker Julien Bonnaire and prop Fabien Barcella also start.
Julien Malzieu, Mathieu Bastareaud, Jerome Thion and Lionel Faure are the men to drop out, with prop Faure not even making the bench.
France are out of the running for the title, but could finish second in the table if they win at Stadio Flaminio and results go their way later on Saturday.
Italy, who have lost all four of their matches in this tournament, ran Wales close in Rome last Saturday and will look to continue their improvement seven days on.
Azzurri coach Nick Mallett has kept faith with the players that started against Wales, with centre Andrea Masi failing to shake off a neck injury. Scrum-half Paul Griffen has recovered from a rib injury, though.
Italy, who know that even a victory on Saturday is unlikely to save them from the wooden spoon, have never beaten France in the RBS 6 Nations.
Indeed, the French usually have a field day in Rome, having amassed a total of 178 points in their four previous visits to the Eternal City in the competition.
France have also made two positional changes, with Sebastien Chabal returning to the second row having played at flanker at Twickenham and Maxime Medard playing on the wing to accommodate Traille's inclusion at full-back.
Florian Fritz
PA Photos
Italy Form Guide
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DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%e/%c') AS DateDmShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%d/%m') AS DateDmLong, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%e/%c/%y') AS DateDmyShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%d/%m/%Y') AS DateDmyLong,
DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%a %e %b') AS DateShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%a %D %b %y') AS DateAbbrev, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%W %D %M %Y') AS DateLong, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%a') AS DayShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%d %b') AS DateDmTxt,
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GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT CompName ORDER BY CompName ASC SEPARATOR ',') AS CompName
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LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.teams ON TeamId = FixTeamA AND (TeamSource = 'hgvision' OR TeamSource = 'sixnations' OR TeamSource = 'irfu18')
WHERE FcmpSource = FixSource AND FcmpFixId = FixId AND FcmpCompId = CompId AND FcmpStgId = StgId AND StgCompId = CompId AND FixDate IS NOT NULL AND (FixSource = 'hgvision' OR FixSource = 'sixnations' OR FixSource = 'irfu18') AND (0 OR FixTeamA = '130' OR FixTeamB = '130' OR (FixTeamA = 0 AND FixTeamB = 0 AND (0 OR FixCompId = '10' OR FixCompId = '17' OR FixCompId = '40' OR FixCompId = '58' OR FixCompId = '68' OR FixCompId = '71' OR FixCompId = '88' OR FixCompId = '94' OR FixCompId = '103' OR FixCompId = '799' OR FixCompId = '800' OR FixCompId = '801' OR FixCompId = '802' OR FixCompId = '803' OR FixCompId = '804' OR FixCompId = '805' OR FixCompId = '806' OR FixCompId = '807' OR FixCompId = '808' OR FixCompId = '809' OR FixCompId = '818' OR FixCompId = '819' OR FixCompId = '826' OR FixCompId = '830' OR FixCompId = '832' OR FixCompId = '833' OR FixCompId = '836' OR FixCompId = '838' OR FixCompId = '839' OR FixCompId = '841' OR FixCompId = '842' OR FixCompId = '844' OR FixCompId = '845' OR FixCompId = '846' OR FixCompId = '847' OR FixCompId = '848' OR FixCompId = '849' OR FixCompId = '850' OR FixCompId = '851' OR FixCompId = '852' OR FixCompId = '853' OR FixCompId = '854' OR FixCompId = '870' OR FixCompId = '873' OR FixCompId = '874' OR FixCompId = '876' OR FixCompId = '877' OR FixCompId = '878' OR FixCompId = '879' OR FixCompId = '880' OR FixCompId = '885' OR FixCompId = '887' OR FixCompId = '923' OR FixCompId = '924' OR FixCompId = '924' OR FixCompId = '925' OR FixCompId = '1235' OR FixCompId = '1236' OR FixCompId = '1406' OR FixCompId = '1464' OR FixCompId = '1599' OR FixCompId = '2177'))) AND (CompVisible = 'Yes' OR CompVisible IS NULL) AND FixStatus = 'Res'
GROUP BY FixId, FixSource
ORDER BY FixDate DESC, Ord, FixTime, HomeDisplay, AwayDisplay, Ord
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Att |
| 14/3/10 | Fra | 46 - 20 | Ita |
|
| 27/2/10 | Ita | 16 - 12 | Sco |
|
| 14/2/10 | Ita | 12 - 17 | Eng |
|
|
France Form Guide
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DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%e/%c') AS DateDmShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%d/%m') AS DateDmLong, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%e/%c/%y') AS DateDmyShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%d/%m/%Y') AS DateDmyLong,
DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%a %e %b') AS DateShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%a %D %b %y') AS DateAbbrev, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%W %D %M %Y') AS DateLong, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%a') AS DayShort, DATE_FORMAT(FixDate,'%d %b') AS DateDmTxt,
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teamsa.TmnmDisplay AS HomeDisplay, teamsb.TmnmDisplay AS AwayDisplay,
teamsa.TmnmShort AS HomeShort, teamsb.TmnmShort AS AwayShort,
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ProvName, DataTicketInfo AS Ticketing, DataSeasonTicket AS SeasonTicket, DataTicketLink AS TicketLink,
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GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT StgId ORDER BY StgOrd, StgName ASC SEPARATOR ',') AS StageId,
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GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT StgAbbrev ORDER BY StgOrd, StgName ASC SEPARATOR ',') AS StageAbbrev,
GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT StgAbbrev ORDER BY StgOrd, StgName ASC SEPARATOR ',') AS StageShortName,
GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT CompAbbrev ORDER BY CompAbbrev ASC SEPARATOR ',') AS CompAbbrev,
GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT CompName ORDER BY CompName ASC SEPARATOR ',') AS CompName
FROM (stats_rugby.fixtures, stats_rugby.fixcompetitions, stats_rugby.competitions, stats_rugby.stages)
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.teamnames AS teamsa ON teamsa.TmnmTeamId = FixTeamA AND teamsa.TmnmStart <= CompSeason AND (teamsa.TmnmEnd = -1 OR teamsa.TmnmEnd >= CompSeason)
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.teamnames AS teamsb ON teamsb.TmnmTeamId = FixTeamB AND teamsb.TmnmStart <= CompSeason AND (teamsb.TmnmEnd = -1 OR teamsb.TmnmEnd >= CompSeason)
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.venues ON VenId = FixVenId AND (VenSource = 'hgvision' OR VenSource = 'sixnations' OR VenSource = 'irfu18')
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.venuenames ON VnnmVenueId = FixVenId AND VnnmStart <= FixDate AND (venuenames.VnnmEnd = '0000-00-00' OR venuenames.VnnmEnd >= FixDate)
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.broadcasts ON BcastFixId = FixId
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.bcastproviders ON BcastProvId = ProvId
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.fixdata ON DataFixId = FixId AND DataProjId = 'sixnations'
LEFT JOIN stats_rugby.teams ON TeamId = FixTeamA AND (TeamSource = 'hgvision' OR TeamSource = 'sixnations' OR TeamSource = 'irfu18')
WHERE FcmpSource = FixSource AND FcmpFixId = FixId AND FcmpCompId = CompId AND FcmpStgId = StgId AND StgCompId = CompId AND FixDate IS NOT NULL AND (FixSource = 'hgvision' OR FixSource = 'sixnations' OR FixSource = 'irfu18') AND (0 OR FixTeamA = '129' OR FixTeamB = '129' OR (FixTeamA = 0 AND FixTeamB = 0 AND (0 OR FixCompId = '10' OR FixCompId = '17' OR FixCompId = '40' OR FixCompId = '58' OR FixCompId = '68' OR FixCompId = '71' OR FixCompId = '88' OR FixCompId = '94' OR FixCompId = '103' OR FixCompId = '721' OR FixCompId = '722' OR FixCompId = '723' OR FixCompId = '724' OR FixCompId = '725' OR FixCompId = '726' OR FixCompId = '727' OR FixCompId = '728' OR FixCompId = '729' OR FixCompId = '730' OR FixCompId = '731' OR FixCompId = '732' OR FixCompId = '733' OR FixCompId = '734' OR FixCompId = '735' OR FixCompId = '736' OR FixCompId = '737' OR FixCompId = '746' OR FixCompId = '747' OR FixCompId = '748' OR FixCompId = '749' OR FixCompId = '750' OR FixCompId = '751' OR FixCompId = '752' OR FixCompId = '753' OR FixCompId = '754' OR FixCompId = '755' OR FixCompId = '756' OR FixCompId = '757' OR FixCompId = '758' OR FixCompId = '759' OR FixCompId = '760' OR FixCompId = '761' OR FixCompId = '762' OR FixCompId = '763' OR FixCompId = '764' OR FixCompId = '765' OR FixCompId = '766' OR FixCompId = '767' OR FixCompId = '768' OR FixCompId = '769' OR FixCompId = '770' OR FixCompId = '771' OR FixCompId = '772' OR FixCompId = '773' OR FixCompId = '774' OR FixCompId = '775' OR FixCompId = '776' OR FixCompId = '777' OR FixCompId = '778' OR FixCompId = '779' OR FixCompId = '780' OR FixCompId = '781' OR FixCompId = '782' OR FixCompId = '783' OR FixCompId = '784' OR FixCompId = '785' OR FixCompId = '786' OR FixCompId = '787' OR FixCompId = '788' OR FixCompId = '789' OR FixCompId = '790' OR FixCompId = '791' OR FixCompId = '792' OR FixCompId = '793' OR FixCompId = '794' OR FixCompId = '795' OR FixCompId = '796' OR FixCompId = '797' OR FixCompId = '798' OR FixCompId = '799' OR FixCompId = '800' OR FixCompId = '801' OR FixCompId = '802' OR FixCompId = '803' OR FixCompId = '804' OR FixCompId = '804' OR FixCompId = '804' OR FixCompId = '804' OR FixCompId = '805' OR FixCompId = '805' OR FixCompId = '806' OR FixCompId = '806' OR FixCompId = '806' OR FixCompId = '806' OR FixCompId = '807' OR FixCompId = '807' OR FixCompId = '807' OR FixCompId = '807' OR FixCompId = '808' OR FixCompId = '808' OR FixCompId = '808' OR FixCompId = '808' OR FixCompId = '809' OR FixCompId = '809' OR FixCompId = '809' OR FixCompId = '823' OR FixCompId = '823' OR FixCompId = '823' OR FixCompId = '825' OR FixCompId = '826' OR FixCompId = '827' OR FixCompId = '829' OR FixCompId = '830' OR FixCompId = '831' OR FixCompId = '832' OR FixCompId = '833' OR FixCompId = '834' OR FixCompId = '835' OR FixCompId = '836' OR FixCompId = '837' OR FixCompId = '838' OR FixCompId = '839' OR FixCompId = '841' OR FixCompId = '842' OR FixCompId = '843' OR FixCompId = '844' OR FixCompId = '845' OR FixCompId = '846' OR FixCompId = '847' OR FixCompId = '848' OR FixCompId = '849' OR FixCompId = '850' OR FixCompId = '851' OR FixCompId = '852' OR FixCompId = '853' OR FixCompId = '854' OR FixCompId = '864' OR FixCompId = '865' OR FixCompId = '871' OR FixCompId = '874' OR FixCompId = '875' OR FixCompId = '876' OR FixCompId = '877' OR FixCompId = '878' OR FixCompId = '879' OR FixCompId = '880' OR FixCompId = '882' OR FixCompId = '884' OR FixCompId = '885' OR FixCompId = '886' OR FixCompId = '919' OR FixCompId = '920' OR FixCompId = '920' OR FixCompId = '920' OR FixCompId = '920' OR FixCompId = '921' OR FixCompId = '921' OR FixCompId = '921' OR FixCompId = '921' OR FixCompId = '922' OR FixCompId = '923' OR FixCompId = '924' OR FixCompId = '924' OR FixCompId = '925' OR FixCompId = '1235' OR FixCompId = '1236' OR FixCompId = '1406' OR FixCompId = '1425' OR FixCompId = '1425' OR FixCompId = '1425' OR FixCompId = '1431' OR FixCompId = '1431' OR FixCompId = '1431' OR FixCompId = '1464' OR FixCompId = '1476' OR FixCompId = '1476' OR FixCompId = '1476' OR FixCompId = '1476' OR FixCompId = '1477' OR FixCompId = '1477' OR FixCompId = '1477' OR FixCompId = '1551' OR FixCompId = '1551' OR FixCompId = '1551' OR FixCompId = '1555' OR FixCompId = '1555' OR FixCompId = '1599' OR FixCompId = '1606' OR FixCompId = '1606' OR FixCompId = '1606' OR FixCompId = '1777' OR FixCompId = '1777' OR FixCompId = '1777' OR FixCompId = '1777' OR FixCompId = '1777' OR FixCompId = '1778' OR FixCompId = '1778' OR FixCompId = '1778' OR FixCompId = '2177'))) AND (CompVisible = 'Yes' OR CompVisible IS NULL) AND FixStatus = 'Res'
GROUP BY FixId, FixSource
ORDER BY FixDate DESC, Ord, FixTime, HomeDisplay, AwayDisplay, Ord
| Date | Team | Score | Team | Att |
| 14/3/10 | Fra | 46 - 20 | Ita |
|
| 26/2/10 | Wal | 20 - 26 | Fra |
|
| 13/2/10 | Fra | 33 - 10 | Ire |
|
|