France player ratings vs Italy | 2024 Guinness Six Nations
France player ratings: In a nail-biting encounter that kept fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle, France and Italy battled to a 13-13 all-draw in the third round of the Six Nations under the roof in Lille.
Despite moments of brilliance and desperation alike, neither side could clinch the decisive blow in a match that promised little but delivered a lot.
Here we rate the France players, who looked like a team of strangers at times, the backs in particular playing like a pub team.
1. Cyril Baille – 6
Baille’s effort was notable for his solid scrummaging and commitment in the loose. He provided a strong foundation for France, even if the sparkle was somewhat missing from his usually excellent ball-carrying.
2. Peato Mauvaka – 5
Mauvaka was reliable at lineout time and industrious around the park. While his work rate was commendable, he continues to cough up handling errors.
3. Uini Atonio – 6
Atonio anchored the scrum with formidable strength, providing a stable platform for France’s attacking game. His impact in tight exchanges and ball-carrying added valuable metres, but his scrummaging dominance fell away sharply as the game wore on.
4. Cameron Woki – 6
Woki’s athleticism shone through on occasion, with several key lineout takes and dynamic contributions in open play. That said, was one of a number of below-par performances in a pack that struggled to hit the high notes.
5. Posolo Tuilagi – 7
Tuilagi showed flashes of the power that he’s known, his hunger for the ball in attack standing out. His destructiveness at the ruck is staggering – man-handling Italian forwards at times – and he showed surprisingly soft hands that belie his 149kg frame. Not the most industrious in covering metres in defence – which is hardly surprising given his size.
6. Paul Boudehent – 7
Boudehent was tireless, showing great energy throughout the game. His defensive work rate was commendable, although he lacked a bit in terms of offensive impact.
7. Charles Ollivon – 6.5
The Toulon man led by example – taking France’s first try well. Despite his valiant attempts to inspire and carry momentum, France’s backs continuously failed to capitalize on the platform set by the forwards, resulting in a disjointed French performance.
8. Francois Cros – 6
Cros was everywhere in the first half, a true nuisance for the Italian side with his defensive prowess and breakdown work. He was one of the more consistent French players, even if he was playing out of position at No.8.
9. Maxime Lucu – 5
Maxime Lucu struggled to impose any control over the game, with slow service and a few tactical misjudgments that hindered France’s attacking flow. Nolann Le Garrec was a notable improvement.
10. Matthieu Jalibert – 4
Jalibert was notably below par again, marked by hesitant decision-making and inaccurate kicking. An unfortunate ankle injury cut short his game, preventing any chances for redemption in the second half.
11. Matthis Lebel – 6
Lebel had moments where his speed and agility threatened, but those instances were too few. His work off the ball was better than on it, indicating room for growth.
12. Jonathan Danty – 4
Prior to the red card, it was a better display from Danty after some awful performances of late. He was relatively solid in the midfield, offering physicality in defence and some effective runs. His combination with Fickou didn’t quite fire on all cylinders. A careless tackle on Juan Ignacio Brex ended his game before halftime after it was upgraded by the bunker
13. Gael Fickou – 5
Fickou tried to jump-start France’s attack – with several line breaks – but couldn’t find France’s three-quarter line with a microscope. He was one of the more effective backs, even in a game where France’s backline didn’t fully ignite.
14. Damian Penaud – 5
Penaud’s work rate and desire to attack space were commendable in an otherwise somewhat flat performance. He looked dangerous at times, even if there were also a few uncharacteristic errors from the Bordeaux man, not least shanking a chip straight into touch on 31 minutes.
15. Thomas Ramos – 6
Ramos was reliable at the back, dealing well with Italy’s kicking game and contributing with his boot in return. Was less involved.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Julien Marchand – 5
Coming off the bench, Marchand added energy and solidity to the French front row but was guilty of sloppy ball protection, notably being stripped of the pill when France were desperately trying to gather momentum.
17. Sebastien Taofifenua – 4
Taofifenua offered fresh legs but Taofifenua faced a challenging day at the office at the setpiece, his scrummaging falling short of expectations.
18. Dorian Aldegheri – 4
Like Taofifenua, Aldegheri struggled to keep the scrum steady but didn’t make a significant impact around the park.
19. Romain Taofifenua – 6
His physicality was welcome in the second row, providing a boost in the engine room but without standout moments.
20. Alexandre Roumat – 5
Roumat delivered a middling performance, showing flashes of potential but ultimately failing to leave a significant mark on the game.
21. Esteban Abadie – NA
Limited game time didn’t allow Abadie to showcase his abilities or influence the game significantly.
22. Nolann Le Garrec – 7
Le Garrec injected some pace and tried to spark the attack, even if he was working with a 14-man France team very much under the pump.
23. Yoram Moefana – 5
Moefana brought enthusiasm and a few neat touches after coming on for Jailbert, but he didn’t have the answer to France’s flatlining backs division.
Comments on RugbyPass
Why cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
31 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
31 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
31 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
31 Go to comments