France crushed Italy 46-20 to stay firmly on course for their first grand slam since 2004 in the Six Nations on Sunday.
The home side ran in six tries, including two from center David Marty, and gathered 16 points from the boot of Morgan Parra.
Italy had to be content with two penalties from Mirco Bergamasco, who also converted the consolation tries from substitutes Carlo Del Fava and Pablo Canavosio.
PHOTO: AFP
France, chasing their first victory in the championship since 2007, will host England at the Stade de France on Saturday.
“France are the strongest team in the competition. They have beaten Wales away, they have beaten Scotland away, thy smashed Ireland, they scored 46 points against us,” Italy coach Nick Mallett told a news conference when asked to compare the strengths of France and England.
“England, when you look at their performance against us, 17-12, were not very convincing, they were not very convincing against Scotland,” he added.
“They certainly have a better defense, but this French side is a very, very good team and, although we played badly today, I want to give them full credit. They are a very good rugby side and I think one of the two or three best sides in the world, ” Mallett said.
Italy were dominated in most areas, notably the lineouts, and paid dearly for poor discipline, while France relied on a mix of power and skill to remain the only side undefeated in the tournament.
“We are happy, we are relieved because the players started the game strongly. We scored nearly 50 points, six tries, most of them well conceived, and we were lucky enough not to lose players through injuries,” France coach Marc Lievremont said.
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