France v Italy LIVE: Six Nations 2024 result and reaction after visitors come agonisingly close to victory
The Azzurri are searching for their first victory of the tournament while Les Bleus hope to build on their win over Scotland
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Paolo Garbisi struck the post with a potential match-winning penalty as Italy narrowly missed out on a famous Six Nations victory over France in Lille.
With the scores level and the clock dead, Garbisi lined up a shot at goal from the left that would have given Gonzalo Quesada his first win as Italy boss.
But having been rushed into his attempt with the shot clock running down after the ball fell off his tee, Garbisi’s flighted effort curled against the right-hand post, rebounding away to ensure France held on for a 13-13 draw.
The hosts had been profligate in a first half they dominated but the game tilted after Jonathan Danty’s dismissal just before the interval.
The France centre was initially shown a yellow card for his head-on-head collision with Juan Ignacio Brex, but an upgrade to red on review in the TMO bunker gave Italy confidence that they could fight back to secure a significant win over the pre-tournament favourites.
Ange Capuozzo’s score in the corner and a fine Garbisi touchline conversion set up a shot at glory, but the fly half was denied by the woodwork as Italy came agonisingly close.
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Italy come close to an upset in France but have to settle for a draw
Italy were within the width of a post of the biggest upset in Six Nations history as they drew 13-13 against 14-man France in Lille.
Paolo Garbisi had a last-gasp penalty attempt from 38 metres to register Italy’s first-ever Championship win in France.
But the ball toppled off its tee and, with just a few seconds left on the shot clock after it had been replaced, Garbisi rushed his kick and struck the right-hand post.
Italy come close to an upset in France but have to settle for a draw
Les Bleus had won 45 of their previous 48 matches against the Azzurri.
On to the next round...
And that’s that for a dramatic middle weekend. Italy’s two points move then level with Wales on the competition ladder - they’ll be really targeting a home game against Scotland next up and then that trip to Cardiff on the final weekend.
France...well, they have two weeks to put themselves right before going to the Principality Stadium themselves, before finishing up against England in Lyon. It rather looks like Ireland and the rest, really.
Six Nations 2024: Fixtures, schedule, kick-off times and results
Everything you need to know as the Six Nations hots up
And a gutted Paolo Garbisi is next in front of the ITV microphone
“I was thinking about trusting my process, really. It was my job to put the kick over, so I take full responsibility for that. I’m sorry for the team, they were amazing today, and also to the Italian supporters - that’s my bad.
“I think the performance was good overall. If you get to 13-13 in the last minute against France, you’ve done pretty well. In the first half, we spent too much time in our half and weren’t great with possession. In the second half, we attacked more and found space.
“This is only the third match with a new coaching staff, and we are still learning what they want from us. But we cannot hide any more - we’ve showed that we can do pretty good things.”
France defence coach Shaun Edwards on the 13-13 draw
“At the end of the game, we were probably overplaying a bit,” Edwards says to ITV. “One too many risks, and we gave a penalty away. Fortunately the guy missed the kick, but we are disappointed with a draw. We had all the ball in the first half, total domination in territory and possession. To concede 13 points is not to bad with 14 players, but we are very disappointed that we didn’t get the win.
“Obviously you want your team to score tries. We had a lot of pressure, but credit to the Italy defence. It was fantastic.
“I haven’t seen the red card incident properly. I’ll watch it. In the end, we’ve got to go with what the referee decides. He decided it was red card.
“I’ve been pretty happy with the defence the last two games, it wasn’t great against Ireland. Offensively, we need to create quicker ball at the ruck.”
Italy’s Ross Vintcent, who has been working for Domino’s in Exeter, gives his reaction to ITV
“It was gutting to see that hit the post,” the number eight says. “I don’t think it takes away from the performance the boys put in for 80 minutes. It was tough but we dug in, defended well and we can be proud of that performance, regardless of the result.
“We just said at half-time that we were blowing, but they were blowing just as hard. If we could stick in the fight and go to 80 minutes, we would have given ourselves a chance. It’s just a pity about the last kick.
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be playing in front of this many people and wearing this badge. I’m not saying that my Domino’s shifts are over indefinitely, that’s for sure!
“The boys showed a lot of heart. There is something brewing here for sure, and I’m fortunate to be a part of it.”
FT: France 13-13 Italy
As for France, it’s another damaging day. Jonathan Danty’s sending off left them up against it in the second half, but they really should have put the game out of sight before then. That profligacy inside the Italian 22 is so atypical - new attack coach Patrick Arlettaz has work to do. That’s three home games without a win now.
You wonder if Matthieu Jalibert’s tournament might be over, too. The fly half went off with a serious-looking knee injury in the first half - remember, France are already without Romain Ntamack.
FT: France 13-13 Italy
They’ll be disappointed not to have snatched victory but that’s a significant result for Italy as they continue their first campaign under Gonzalo Quesada. They defended superbly at times in the first half to prevent France building their lead, and that left them within striking distance after Jonathan Danty’s dismissal for that head-on-head collision with Juan Ignacio Brex. Here’s how close they came to victory:
FT: France 13-13 Italy
What drama. Agonisingly close to another famous win for Italy, the width of the post all that stood between Paolo Garbisi and another match-winning kick. He’d been forced to rush, the ball falling off his tee and the shot clock running down, but it looked nice in flight - late curl sent it slamming into the upright, though, and France hold on for a draw that will please no-one.
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