France need a statement victory or the wheels are in danger of falling off their Six Nations campaign entirely. A stuffing against Ireland in round one had the caveat of playing 50 minutes with 14 men after Paul Willemse’s red card. But to scrape past Scotland in round two – and only win off the back of a controversial no-try call by the TMO at the death to deny the Scots – has piled the pressure on Les Bleus.
And Italy are no longer the push-overs they once were. Yes, Ireland taught them a lesson in Dublin, but this is an Ireland team that looks a class above the rest. The Azzurri will fancy their chances.
When is France v Italy?
France and Italy meet on Sunday, February 25. The match kicks off at 3pm (GMT).
Where is France v Italy taking place?
Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre Mauroy, in Lille.
How to watch France v Italy on TV
The match will be broadcast live on ITV.
Who is the referee?
Christophe Ridley (Eng). Telegraph Sport has published a full guide to all the referees at this year’s tournament.
What is the latest news?
Louis Lynagh has been named in Italy’s training squad before their game with France, two days after the announcement that he will join Benetton at the end of this season.
Lynagh, son of former Australian fly-half Michael, will leave Harlequins for the Italian club in July, and the 23-year-old has now been called up by head coach Gonzalo Quesada to his training squad.
The Italian-born wing is a former England Under-20 player and has previously been called up to England’s senior training squad but has yet to be capped, and is also eligible to play for Australia.
Prop Simone Ferrari returns to the squad after missing the first two games while Sebastian Negri, Lorenzo Cannone, Pietro Ceccarelli and Edoardo Iachizzi are all ruled out through injury.
Tommaso Allan has not been included after the fly-half requested a period of rest from international duty.