France need to work on discipline to avoid punishment by Ireland

Rome — France claimed their 14th consecutive victory when they edged Italy 29-24 in their Six Nations opener on Sunday but know that their lack of discipline will not go unpunished against Ireland next weekend.

Fabien Galthie’s side prevailed thanks to a late try by replacement flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert after Italy had made the most of 18 penalties in their favour at the Stadio Olimpico.

“We were not disciplined enough, we were not clear-headed enough and we were unable to correct that despite talking about it at halftime,” said captain Antoine DuPont after France’s ill-discipline culminated in a yellow card for Charles Ollivon in the 52nd minute.

France were often penalised at the ruck, one of their usual strong points, by referee Matthew Carley, and head coach Galthie said they would need to have a discussion with the officials of their next game to have a clear idea of how they should behave in Dublin.

“We will need to have a chat with Wayne Barnes to see how he wants the game to be played,” said Galthie.

“There were some positives today because we won and also got the bonus point, but the performance was not good. Our behaviour was sanctioned, we got a yellow card and made fouls when we were not in danger.

“Discipline is a part of rugby. It’s something we can correct quickly.”

Lock Thibaud Flament was all the more frustrated as France had been working on discipline in their preparation. “It is something we had worked on but obviously it did not show,” he said.

“Also on the lineouts and scrums, where we are usually strong, we did not manage to do what we wanted.”

France’s task was made difficult by Italy themselves. They have improved recently — beating Australia and Wales in 2022 — and came out with all guns blazing in Rome.

“It’s not the Italy we knew in the Five Nations, or earlier in the Six Nations,” said winger Ethan Dumortier, who scored a try in his first international appearance.

Reuters