Rugby World Cup: France ease past Italy

French and Italian players contest a high ball in their Rugby World Cup opener. Photo / Getty

France stayed on course with Pool D rival Ireland in winning its opening match at the Rugby World Cup against an ill-disciplined Italy 32-10 at Twickenham on Saturday.

France and Ireland are expected to play for the pool win, and a supposedly easier quarterfinal, on the last weekend of pool play in three weeks. Ireland began its run hours earlier with a 50-7 stroll over Canada, while France took care of its tougher Six Nations mate at the cost of winger Yoann Huget, who was carried off stricken with a right leg injury.

Like Canada did for Ireland, Italy practically gifted the win.

The packed Twickenham crowd sounded and looked like Paris or Rome for only the second match between France and Italy away from their homelands, but the French among them were given more reasons to cheer.

Italy conceded 11 penalties in the first half, on average of one every four minutes. Seven were in kicking distance and France took five of them; four to flyhalf Freddy Michalak to pass 400 points in tests, and one by fullback Scott Spedding from inside his own half.

They helped France to a lead of 15-3, too much to overcome by an Italy missing talismanic captain Sergio Parisse, who remained at home recovering from a bad leg hematoma, still in doubt of making his fourth Cup.

Halftime came as a relief after the stop-start first 40 minutes, and not just for the players. The officials didn't cover themselves in glory either.

France was awarded a try after 10 minutes to winger Noa Nakaitaci, who made his debut in the Six Nations against Italy. But it was confirmed only after No. 8 Louis Picamoles' attempted pass around Italy's Leonardo Sarto was ruled legit. The ball bounced off Sarto into the in-goal, and Nakaitaci scooped and scored.

But as Michalak was lining up the conversion, replays on the big screen showed Nakaitaci dropped the ball as he dived, and referee Craig Joubert went back to the Television Match Official. Knock-on, no try. The same thing happened the night before when a try by Fiji's Nikola Matawalu was rubbed out against England only after a mistake came to light on the stadium big screens.

Real tries finally came after halftime.

France was full of ambition but just not making the last catch or pass. Finally, Nakaitaci charged from his own half past a crowd of Italians and supported inside by hooker Guilhem Guirado, who was tripped just before the try-line. France recycled, and Michalak's expert grubber kick was picked up by tighthead prop Rabah Slimani, who scored his first international try between the posts.

Slimani's replacement, Nicolas Mas, also scored his first try in his 81st test, a forwards effort he took to the right post.

In between those tries, and after Italy began substituting, Italy scored its only five-pointer. The forwards and scrumhalf Edoardo Gori drove France back to its line, where Gori fired a pass out to right winger Giovanbattista Venditti to score untouched. Tommaso Allan converted, to add to his first-half penalty, and that's all Italy had.

Italy has a week off before playing Canada, while France has to regroup for Romania in four days at the Olympic Stadium.

- AP

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