Rugby World Cup, Italy challenges France to keep the dream alive
Italy’s rugby team seeks to conquer its French hosts: the quarterfinals of the World Cup are still up for grabs
After a resounding defeat suffered at the hands of New Zealand (17-96), Italy’s rugby team seeks redemption in a decisive match against their French hosts.
On Friday 6 October at 9 pm, in Lyon, the Azzurri and Roosters will compete for a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, a goal never before achieved by our national team.
Italy-France, the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup are still up for grabs
After an encouraging start to the world championship, with victories over Namibia and Uruguay, Italy came out the worse for wear after the match against the All Blacks, but coach Kieran Crowley is working to rebuild team morale: “We had the wrong approach in our last match, but now, against France, we have another chance to show that we can compete with the big teams.”
Paolo Garbisi, one of the pillars of the Italian team, echoes him: “We need to let the defeat with New Zealand roll off our backs. It hurt, but we have to move on. Now let’s focus on France: they’re very strong, but in the last Six Nations we finished with a very close score.”
In fact, the match last February in Rome was won 29-24 by the transalpine team, showing that Italy was absolutely up to the task. However, overall, precedent matches between the two national teams lean decidedly in favour of the Bleus, with just three victories for our team in 47 official matches (Italy hasn’t beaten them since the Six Nations in 2013).
The French, for their part, are playing a leading role in their home World Cup: thanks to their victorious debut against New Zealand and two subsequent victories, they lead the group with 13 points, against Italy’s 10. Presumably, whoever wins this direct clash will join New Zealand in the quarterfinals, playing in the final round against Uruguay.
Rugby, where to watch Italy-France on TV and streaming
France will miss scrumhalf Antoine Dupont, one of the best players in the world. Italy, meanwhile, will present a revolutionised line-up compared to the last performance, with the young star Ange Capuozzo returning as a full-back, after playing as a wing, while Faiva and Ferrari enter the front row in place of the injured Nicotera and Fischetti, with Allan as fly-half and Garbisi as inside centre.
Italy’s dream is still alive. To cheer in front of the screen, here are the TV times for Italy-France: live on 6 October at 9 pm on the Rai Due public channel and on satellite TV with Sky Sport Uno (Channel 201) and Sky Sport Arena (Channel 204). It will also be possible to follow the match via live stream on SkyGO as well as on the Now TV and RaiPlay platforms.