France and Italy start their Six Nations campaign on Sunday at the Stade de France, the last of the three games as this year’s competition gets underway.
Head coach Fabien Galthie had to cancel a press conference in the build-up to the game after testing positive for Covid but he’s expected to manage the side from afar at the weekend regardless, with his coaching staff on hand to pass on instructions.
Last year France finished as runners-up, four points behind eventual winners Wales, while it was another dismal year for Italy as they finished bottom without so much as a bonus point.
This fixture finished with a heavy 40-point win in favour of France a year ago in Rome, so Gli Azzurri will be seeking a big improvement this time around.
Here’s all you need to know about today’s match.
When is it?
The game will kick off at 3pm GMT on Sunday, 6 February at the Stade de France in Paris.
How can I watch it?
ITV Sport will air the game live in the UK.
Confirmed line-ups
France: 15. Melvyn Jaminet, 14. Damian Penaud, 13. Gael Fickou, 12. Jonathan Danty, 11. Gabin Villiere, 10. Romain Ntamack. 9. Antoine Dupont, 1. Cyril Baille, 2. Julien Marchand, 3. Uini Atonio, 4. Cameron Woki, 5. Paul Willemse, 6. Anthony Jelonch, 7. Dylan Cretin, 8. Gregory Alldritt.
Replacements: 16. Peato Mauvaka, 17. Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18. Demba Bamba, 19. Romain Taofifenua, 20. Francois Cros, 21. Maxime Lucu, 22. Yoram Moefana, 23. Thomas Ramos.
Italy: 15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Tommaso Menoncello, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 1 Danilo Fischetti, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 5 Federico Ruzza, 6 Sebastian Negri, 7 Michele Lamaro, 8 Toa Halafihi
Replacements: 16 Epalahame Faiva, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Giosuè Zilocchi, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Giovanni Pettinelli, 21 Manuel Zuliani, 22 Callum Braley, 23 Leonardo Marin
Odds
France 1/41
Draw 179/1
Italy 79/1
