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Today's Games Week 1: 08/07/10 - 08/08/10 Week 2: 08/14/10 - 08/15/10 Week 3: 08/17/10 - 08/22/10 Week 4: 08/28/10 - 08/29/10 Week 5: 09/11/10 - 09/12/10 Week 6: 09/18/10 - 09/19/10 Week 7: 09/25/10 - 09/26/10 Week 8: 10/02/10 - 10/03/10 Week 9: 10/16/10 - 10/17/10 Week 10: 10/23/10 - 10/24/10 Week 11: 10/30/10 - 11/02/10 Week 12: 11/06/10 - 11/07/10 Week 13: 11/13/10 - 11/14/10 Week 14: 11/20/10 - 11/21/10 Week 15: 11/27/10 - 11/28/10 Week 16: 11/27/10 - 12/05/10 Week 17: 12/11/10 - 12/12/10 Week 18: 12/18/10 - 01/22/11 Week 19: 12/21/10 - 12/22/10 Week 20: 01/15/11 - 01/16/11 Week 21: 01/29/11 - 01/30/11 Week 22: 02/05/11 - 02/06/11 Week 23: 02/12/11 - 02/13/11 Week 24: 02/18/11 - 02/20/11 Week 25: 02/26/11 - 02/27/11 Week 26: 03/05/11 - 03/06/11 Week 27: 03/11/11 - 03/13/11 Week 28: 03/19/11 - 03/20/11 Week 29: 04/02/11 Week 30: 04/09/11 Week 31: 04/16/11 Week 32: 04/24/11 Week 33: 04/30/11 Week 34: 05/07/11 Week 35: 05/11/11 Week 36: 05/15/11 Week 37: 05/21/11 Week 38: 05/29/11​

Saturday, March 12, 2011​
Week 27​

Felix Bollaert
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Lens​
0 : 1
Final



Match Stats | Minute by Minute
Goals Federico Santander (75')

Cards Federico Santander (45')

(57') Kanga Akalé
Serge Aurier

(57') Eduardo
Toifilou Maoulida

(77') Gregory Sertic
Bedimo

Substitutions Fode Mansare (64')

Franck Tabanou


Antoine Devaux (87')

Etienne Didot



Auguste Bonal
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0 : 2
Final



Match Stats | Minute by Minute
Goals Lisandro López (22')

Miralem Pjanic (64')

(34') Modibo Maiga
Cards Jeremy Pied (67')

Jérémy Toulalan (75')

(42') Cedric Bakambu
Maxime Josse

(67') Loic Poujol
Carlao

Substitutions Jeremy Pied (62')

Lisandro López


Clement Grenier (80')

Jérémy Toulalan


Maxime Gonalons (81')

Miralem Pjanic



Geoffroy-Guichard
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2 : 0
Final



Match Stats | Minute by Minute
(35') Bakary Sako
(88') Dimitri Payet
Goals
(53') Albin Ebondo
Cards Omar Daf (33')

Richard Soumah (44')

Paul Baysse (85')

(46') Dimitri Payet
Laurent Batlles

(75') Faouzi Ghoulam
Sylvain Monsoreau

(79') Christophe Landrin
Alejandro Alonso

Substitutions Fodie Traore (64')

Richard Soumah


Anthony Bova (82')

Mario Licka



Municipal du Ray
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1 : 0
Final



Match Stats | Minute by Minute
(62') Eric Mouloungui
Goals Cards Amadou Sidibe (6')

(65') Abdou Traore
Chaouki Ben Saada

(77') David Bellion
Danijel Ljuboja

(83') Larrys Mabiala
Kafoumba Coulibaly

Substitutions Anthony Le Tallec (65')

Roy Contout


Valter Birsa (66')

Alain Traore


Jo- Gook Jung (77')

Dennis Oliech



Marcel Picot
Expand


2 : 0
Final



Match Stats | Minute by Minute
(38') Landry N'Guemo
(85') Bakaye Traore
Goals
(73') Fouad Rachid
Cards Sambou Yatabare (47')

(72')

(63') Fouad Rachid
Julien Feret

(78') Bakaye Traore
Marama Vahirua

(90') Benjamin Gavanon
Benjamin Jeannot

Substitutions Rajiv Van la Parra (52')

Kandia Traore


Thibault Moulin (52')

Damien Marcq


Benjamin Morel (83')

Yohan Mollo
 
Stade Fernand Fournier
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3 : 3
Final



Match Stats | Minute by Minute
(6') Camel Meriem
(64') Yann Kermorgant
(80') Remy Cabella
Goals Morgan Amalfitano (19')

Sigamary Diarra (45')

Kevin Gameiro (53')

(26') Jean-Alain Fanchone
Cards Gregory Bourillon (46')

(58') Yann Kermorgant
Kamel Ghilas

(58') Remy Cabella
Sebastien Piocelle

(58') Loic Abenzoar
Jean-Alain Fanchone

Substitutions Francis Coquelin (77')

Kevin Monnet-Paquet



Upcoming Games

Sunday, March 13, 2011​
Week 27​

Metropole
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12:00 PM ET



Goals Cards Substitutions
Stade Chaban-Delmas
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12:00 PM ET



Goals Cards Substitutions
Parc des Princes
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4:00 PM ET



Goals Cards Substitutions
Completed Games

Friday, March 11, 2011​
Week 27​

Route de Lorient
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0 : 2
Final




Match Stats | Minute by Minute
 

Mirco Bergamasco kicks Italy to stunning victory over France

• Italy 22-21 France
• Give us your player ratings




  • Mike Averis at the Stadio Flaminio
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 March 2011 16.24 GMT <li class="history">Article history France's Morgan Parra can't stop Andrea Masi scoring a try for Italy during the Six Nations game in Rome. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters With a dogged display that is becoming less of a rarity from Roman ranks, Italy came from 12 points down in the Stadio Flaminio to beat France for the first time in the Six Nations.
    The Italians were behind from the 14th minute until the 74th, when their kicker Mirco Bergamasco landed a touchline penalty &#8211; his fifth of the afternoon &#8211; to hand Nick Mallett's team victory and their biggest scalp of 11 seasons in the competition.
    Barring the eight-try thumping by England at Twickenham, this has been Mallett's best season in charge and his side now head to Murrayfield on Saturday hoping to ward off a fourth consecutive Six Nations wooden spoon against Scotland.
    For France, it is the end of their dream of taking the championship. Beaten by England and now Italy, events will have to take a dramatic turn today at Twickenham &#8211; and in Dublin next Saturday &#8211; before they are in with a sniff.
    The first half was furious. Fly-half François Trinh-Duc rained high balls on to the Italian 22 for Aurélien Rougerie and Yannick Jauzion to chase, much as the French have done all championship. The veteran prop Sylvain Marconnet &#8211; now playing in his third decade of Test rugby &#8211; twice got into the bad books of the referee, Bryce Lawrence, before the French front row started to scrum the pants off Italy. And wing Yoann Huget was taken out in mid-air before Vincent Clerc brought a brief period of calm, chasing his own chip and beating Gonzalo Canale to the ball to end a move in which Trinh-Duc was obstructed and Huget taken out for a second time without the New Zealand referee noticing anything wrong.
    Rougerie came close to making it two a couple of minutes later, the 6ft 4in centre losing control as he stretched a long right arm over the line, but a couple of penalties by Bergamasco to one and a miss, plus a botched conversion by Morgan Parra, narrowed the French lead to 8-6 by 30 minutes.
    Barring a clever jinking run by Canale, the Italian threat was more forward orientated, with Sergio Parisse everywhere, as ever, and by half-time, with a spirited row going on in the Italian coaches box, everyone seemed delighted to take a breather, although Mallett and his assistant, Alessandro Troncon, were at it again in the second half.
    There was little let-up on the pitch, either. Parra got a penalty to stretch the lead, but then the scrum-half administered a particularly brutal kick to the Italian teeth when he ghosted up alongside Trinh-Duc for France's second try five minutes after the restart. Julien Bonnaire, the source of much good work, looked to have got himself isolated, but Trinh-Duc handed off a couple of powder-puff tackles before slipping the ball inside.
    There was a time when Italian heads would have dropped in such circumstances and, when Bergamasco missed a couple of kickable penalties, it looked as though things might go that way. But Andrea Masi brought euphoria to the crowd by getting on the end of a bit of clever work by Tommaso Benvenuti and Fabio Semenzato.
    Bergamasco's conversion and a penalty made it a two-point game and the last 20 minutes were set to be a blinder. Parra and Bergamasco swapped penalties to keep the nerves jangling before the wing landed his final kick from 35 yards out, wide on the left.
    All that remained was the torture of three reset French scrums in the shadow of the Italian posts before the Azzurri could celebrate. After letting Ireland off the hook on the first weekend of the championship, and then pushing Wales all the way, Italy now go to Murrayfield looking to repeat their only away win in the Six Nations, the 37-17 victory over Scotland, in 2007, when they were three tries up in the first six minutes.
    Italy's captain, Sergio Parisse, said: "To beat France at home is a dream. The players, the coaches and squad deserve it. There aren't words to describe how proud I am."
    The France prop Sylvain Marconnet said: "We didn't make things easy for ourselves. We struggled mentally and we need to reflect on it to bounce back. It's infuriating and disappointing because we have the potential, but are not making the most of it."


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    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:28PM

      Fantastico!!!
      Sod the guru and the fantasy leagues!
      This result is great for Rugby
      Not great for us though
      We gotta face these guys in Dunedin later this year

    • Tichtheid 12 March 2011 4:29PM

      Fantastic result. Well done, Italy. The emotion at the end said it all.
      Brilliant.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      i guess nothing compares in importance to tomorrow's calcutta cup, more's the pity.

    • Ardwick1887 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      Superb result! Great display by Italy, albeit against an off-form France. Totally deserved.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:32PM

      also, no MBM, at least not that i could find. it would have been appreciated.

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:33PM

      The Italian commentators are in tears, everyone's in tears. Okay, I slagged off Masi on the other blog. Big effort today. Ran straight, ran hard.
      This French effort has been coming for a while. At the interval, Lièvremont said his team were lacking will. How right. Italy had it in spades.

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      oldenick: It's a PA feed up 10 minutes after the game you soft twat.
      Tell you what, Italy aren't far off the best pack in the NH...

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Incredible game.
      We now know that the Italy result in Twickenham was a freak result, and this Italian side, with a better kicker, could have been a real force at the top end of the table.
      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance, I have rarely seen such a remarkable performance by a fullback in such a close game - especially one who rarely plays in the position.
      And Parisse is the best loose forward in the NH.
      I hope England fans won't use this as a stick to beat France with, because the Italy side that played today was a totally different side to the one that were swatted aside in London. France were poor, but Italy made them poor with their monumental defence and effective moving around of the ball.
      Great to see Italy getting faster ball, and moving it wide, and actually breaking the line - more clean line breaks than France by my reckoning.
      Genius move by Mallett to bring on Burton for last 20 - he brought real control to the Italian line.

    • Jaypx90 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Calm down mate, it was only posted 4 minutes after the game
      Get the result up, key facts and come back with the detailed analysis later

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:35PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      ​
      ah not fair oldenick
      They got this together and available for online comments within 30 mins of the game...not bad going and I say fair play for letting us comment so soon on this
      There will be more written about this game, don't worry

    • chiptooth 12 March 2011 4:36PM

      holy shit! what a great game! forza indeed...
      I'm not too bothered by the poor article, the smart stuff's always below the line here anyway.

    • fluter 12 March 2011 4:37PM

      Bugger, I forgot, I meant to go down to a local bar to watch that.

    • DinGex 12 March 2011 4:39PM

      I'm French but was cheering the Italians on at the end... for the last half-hour or so there was only one team who wanted to win it and one team showing any sign of rhythm and fluidity. They were great, we were our usual shambles, and Lièvremont ought to go to the scaffold.

    • PizzaRe 12 March 2011 4:40PM

      forza italia trending on twitter - is that important (and do I sound like I know what I'm talking about)?

    • HandsSolo 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
      *takes breath*
      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance,
      ​
      You and me both. But he's still not quick. He just had time and space - tons of it - to build up a head of steam. A boy from Abruzzo. Not the rugby capital of Italy.

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:42PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia!
      ​
      At last to have an excited Italian on the rugger blogs here eh

    • avsfan 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      As lara points out, despite the fantasy and guru tables lying in tatters, it is hard to argue with the result, especially the manner in which it was achieved - great comeback by Italy. The England game aside they've been knocking on the door all this 6N.
      I don't watch the T14 much. What has Huget done to get selected?

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      was anyone else convinced the ref would ping italy at one of then final scrums?
      So many great things about this game....the look on Masi's face as he ran those kicks back in a straight line and bounced through French tacklers....
      Zanni was also awesome. He is very underrated - extremely athletic and always does lots of work. I am surprised he is not at a top French or British club.
      Lets not forget a third of that team are in their early twenties and play club rugby in a fairly low level competition. The amount by which they have to raise the game is massive.

    • Meurglys68 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      What a truly wonderful game - I was mesmerised.
      Masi and Parrise - words fail me.
      Bergamasco - the courage and composure required to take those kicks (particularly after missing two) - wonderful.
      To hear the Stadio Flaminio in full voice, to see how much it meant to the supporters and the team. This is why I love Rugby. Such results occur infrequently but when they do...
      France: I think it is important to note that Italy made them look ordinary. Yes they gave away a barrel load of penalties (some of a 'technical' nature), but it is worth reiterating that this is an Italian win, created and completed by the Italians.
      Superb game. Just wonderful. I would love to be in Rome now...

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:44PM

      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers
      ​
      yeah...need alot more karma to make up for that though.
      No skullduggery involved in that result.
      Italy just the better side, that's all

    • Laplante 12 March 2011 4:49PM

      I hardly bother to watch Italy most of the time, but today, they excelled themselves. A great do or die effort and not without skill. They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.

    • nextdoorsdogbarks 12 March 2011 4:53PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!

      Okay- i'll display my ignorance!
      Me no understand
      Apart from thinking your'e pretty happy.....

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      Bravisimo Italia!
      Wonderful game!
      I was convinced that it might get thrown away at the death either through ill-discipline or another reffing travesty.
      Castro, you wily ol' boot tying pirate 😀

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.
      ​
      The only complaint i have about Italy right now is that Castrogiovanni needs to act less as first receiver at times, especially when they get quick ball and have men out wide.
      But under the circumstances, f*ck it!

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 4:59PM

      As I have stated before Italy has become THE leading nation in Ruby. (sorry could not resist)

    • dermott 12 March 2011 5:01PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!
      ​
      I'm very proud of the Azzurri today! Let's go Italy.
      Holy cow what a thrill! Go the Azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • compagnovolpe 12 March 2011 5:03PM

      "oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzurri!
      andiamo Italia"
      T: today I am very proud of the Azzurri!
      let's go Italy!
      "Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzurri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!"
      Dammit, what an emotion!!! Forza azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 5:04PM

      Castro's brilliant, expro. He always moves off line *just enough*, goes into space instead of into tackels, always makes ground, never drops the ball...
      ...they were lucky with that last scrum, 3 resets and the French pushed them backwards 3 times.
      Whoever said France were livving off their front-row was right. Rougerie was passing like a, I don't know, a Tindall today...
      Not using Italy as a stick to beat France with, the England result shows they've got a better pack than Italy - and apparently no one else has.

    • mitchigansmiley 12 March 2011 5:06PM

      Top banana, boys!
      That's shafted me (but probably everyone else too 🙂) in the predictions league, but I couldn't give a flying toss!
      Great, and thoroughly deserved win for the Azzurri, so tense at the death with all those scrums; why didn't the french pop it out for a drop goal? So glad they didn't...
      And expro, I thought of you when the whistle went.
      Enjoy it, your adopted boys deserved it.
      But I knew you'd be straight on here telling us how Italy made the french play badly, but how England against england the french just played badly for themselves...
      Can't have it all ways, my son.

    • expro 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      The real bummer was that this was the 1st game we could not find a decent stream to watch and had to rely on the "live coverage" of the papers. Hopefully there will be other good times for the azzurri. And Mauro is not even playing!!!

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      @expro
      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.
      ​
      Agreed. I felt that one from here in Dublin.
      On another note, all past animosity between me and you aside, I'm delighted for Italian fans and those like you who've adopted Italy. I'm still grining!
      God, I ****ing love this sport!

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      you soft twat
      ​
      fair enough, fair enough - i've calmed down now. apologies.
      if someone can just find me a stream of wales:ireland, my composure will be complete. espn+ not even deigning to show that one.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:24PM

      sorry, that's the only italian phrase i know, memorised on a long train journey through france, humorously enough.

    • sibusisodan 12 March 2011 5:27PM

      massive! well done Italy! Bergamasco had some serious courage to take that last kick.

    • labjo 12 March 2011 5:29PM

      Italy's best ever result. The boys were terrific today. Still can't believe it.

    • Gelion 12 March 2011 5:34PM

      Not that you could see Italy winning this, but I have said this since the competition started:
      The French defence is awful. They have now conceded 81 points against them, just over 20 points per game played so far.
      You are not going to win the championship with a defence as porous as that.
      Great for Italy and something for them to work on - though they are going to have to get more consistent to make an impact in future championships.

    • mattutes 12 March 2011 5:41PM

      This is one of the most important results in 6N history.
      France have been playing like a very good Italy all tournament. They got beat by an excellent Italy today.
      Wonderful comeback, unbelievable desire and what an atmosphere.


 

Mirco Bergamasco kicks Italy to stunning victory over France

• Italy 22-21 France
• Give us your player ratings




  • Mike Averis at the Stadio Flaminio
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 March 2011 16.24 GMT <li class="history">Article history France's Morgan Parra can't stop Andrea Masi scoring a try for Italy during the Six Nations game in Rome. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters With a dogged display that is becoming less of a rarity from Roman ranks, Italy came from 12 points down in the Stadio Flaminio to beat France for the first time in the Six Nations.
    The Italians were behind from the 14th minute until the 74th, when their kicker Mirco Bergamasco landed a touchline penalty – his fifth of the afternoon – to hand Nick Mallett's team victory and their biggest scalp of 11 seasons in the competition.
    Barring the eight-try thumping by England at Twickenham, this has been Mallett's best season in charge and his side now head to Murrayfield on Saturday hoping to ward off a fourth consecutive Six Nations wooden spoon against Scotland.
    For France, it is the end of their dream of taking the championship. Beaten by England and now Italy, events will have to take a dramatic turn today at Twickenham – and in Dublin next Saturday – before they are in with a sniff.
    The first half was furious. Fly-half François Trinh-Duc rained high balls on to the Italian 22 for Aurélien Rougerie and Yannick Jauzion to chase, much as the French have done all championship. The veteran prop Sylvain Marconnet – now playing in his third decade of Test rugby – twice got into the bad books of the referee, Bryce Lawrence, before the French front row started to scrum the pants off Italy. And wing Yoann Huget was taken out in mid-air before Vincent Clerc brought a brief period of calm, chasing his own chip and beating Gonzalo Canale to the ball to end a move in which Trinh-Duc was obstructed and Huget taken out for a second time without the New Zealand referee noticing anything wrong.
    Rougerie came close to making it two a couple of minutes later, the 6ft 4in centre losing control as he stretched a long right arm over the line, but a couple of penalties by Bergamasco to one and a miss, plus a botched conversion by Morgan Parra, narrowed the French lead to 8-6 by 30 minutes.
    Barring a clever jinking run by Canale, the Italian threat was more forward orientated, with Sergio Parisse everywhere, as ever, and by half-time, with a spirited row going on in the Italian coaches box, everyone seemed delighted to take a breather, although Mallett and his assistant, Alessandro Troncon, were at it again in the second half.
    There was little let-up on the pitch, either. Parra got a penalty to stretch the lead, but then the scrum-half administered a particularly brutal kick to the Italian teeth when he ghosted up alongside Trinh-Duc for France's second try five minutes after the restart. Julien Bonnaire, the source of much good work, looked to have got himself isolated, but Trinh-Duc handed off a couple of powder-puff tackles before slipping the ball inside.
    There was a time when Italian heads would have dropped in such circumstances and, when Bergamasco missed a couple of kickable penalties, it looked as though things might go that way. But Andrea Masi brought euphoria to the crowd by getting on the end of a bit of clever work by Tommaso Benvenuti and Fabio Semenzato.
    Bergamasco's conversion and a penalty made it a two-point game and the last 20 minutes were set to be a blinder. Parra and Bergamasco swapped penalties to keep the nerves jangling before the wing landed his final kick from 35 yards out, wide on the left.
    All that remained was the torture of three reset French scrums in the shadow of the Italian posts before the Azzurri could celebrate. After letting Ireland off the hook on the first weekend of the championship, and then pushing Wales all the way, Italy now go to Murrayfield looking to repeat their only away win in the Six Nations, the 37-17 victory over Scotland, in 2007, when they were three tries up in the first six minutes.
    Italy's captain, Sergio Parisse, said: "To beat France at home is a dream. The players, the coaches and squad deserve it. There aren't words to describe how proud I am."
    The France prop Sylvain Marconnet said: "We didn't make things easy for ourselves. We struggled mentally and we need to reflect on it to bounce back. It's infuriating and disappointing because we have the potential, but are not making the most of it."


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    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:28PM

      Fantastico!!!
      Sod the guru and the fantasy leagues!
      This result is great for Rugby
      Not great for us though
      We gotta face these guys in Dunedin later this year

    • Tichtheid 12 March 2011 4:29PM

      Fantastic result. Well done, Italy. The emotion at the end said it all.
      Brilliant.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      i guess nothing compares in importance to tomorrow's calcutta cup, more's the pity.

    • Ardwick1887 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      Superb result! Great display by Italy, albeit against an off-form France. Totally deserved.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:32PM

      also, no MBM, at least not that i could find. it would have been appreciated.

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:33PM

      The Italian commentators are in tears, everyone's in tears. Okay, I slagged off Masi on the other blog. Big effort today. Ran straight, ran hard.
      This French effort has been coming for a while. At the interval, Lièvremont said his team were lacking will. How right. Italy had it in spades.

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      oldenick: It's a PA feed up 10 minutes after the game you soft twat.
      Tell you what, Italy aren't far off the best pack in the NH...

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Incredible game.
      We now know that the Italy result in Twickenham was a freak result, and this Italian side, with a better kicker, could have been a real force at the top end of the table.
      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance, I have rarely seen such a remarkable performance by a fullback in such a close game - especially one who rarely plays in the position.
      And Parisse is the best loose forward in the NH.
      I hope England fans won't use this as a stick to beat France with, because the Italy side that played today was a totally different side to the one that were swatted aside in London. France were poor, but Italy made them poor with their monumental defence and effective moving around of the ball.
      Great to see Italy getting faster ball, and moving it wide, and actually breaking the line - more clean line breaks than France by my reckoning.
      Genius move by Mallett to bring on Burton for last 20 - he brought real control to the Italian line.

    • Jaypx90 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Calm down mate, it was only posted 4 minutes after the game
      Get the result up, key facts and come back with the detailed analysis later

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:35PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      ​
      ah not fair oldenick
      They got this together and available for online comments within 30 mins of the game...not bad going and I say fair play for letting us comment so soon on this
      There will be more written about this game, don't worry

    • chiptooth 12 March 2011 4:36PM

      holy shit! what a great game! forza indeed...
      I'm not too bothered by the poor article, the smart stuff's always below the line here anyway.

    • fluter 12 March 2011 4:37PM

      Bugger, I forgot, I meant to go down to a local bar to watch that.

    • DinGex 12 March 2011 4:39PM

      I'm French but was cheering the Italians on at the end... for the last half-hour or so there was only one team who wanted to win it and one team showing any sign of rhythm and fluidity. They were great, we were our usual shambles, and Lièvremont ought to go to the scaffold.

    • PizzaRe 12 March 2011 4:40PM

      forza italia trending on twitter - is that important (and do I sound like I know what I'm talking about)?

    • HandsSolo 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
      *takes breath*
      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance,
      ​
      You and me both. But he's still not quick. He just had time and space - tons of it - to build up a head of steam. A boy from Abruzzo. Not the rugby capital of Italy.

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:42PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia!
      ​
      At last to have an excited Italian on the rugger blogs here eh

    • avsfan 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      As lara points out, despite the fantasy and guru tables lying in tatters, it is hard to argue with the result, especially the manner in which it was achieved - great comeback by Italy. The England game aside they've been knocking on the door all this 6N.
      I don't watch the T14 much. What has Huget done to get selected?

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      was anyone else convinced the ref would ping italy at one of then final scrums?
      So many great things about this game....the look on Masi's face as he ran those kicks back in a straight line and bounced through French tacklers....
      Zanni was also awesome. He is very underrated - extremely athletic and always does lots of work. I am surprised he is not at a top French or British club.
      Lets not forget a third of that team are in their early twenties and play club rugby in a fairly low level competition. The amount by which they have to raise the game is massive.

    • Meurglys68 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      What a truly wonderful game - I was mesmerised.
      Masi and Parrise - words fail me.
      Bergamasco - the courage and composure required to take those kicks (particularly after missing two) - wonderful.
      To hear the Stadio Flaminio in full voice, to see how much it meant to the supporters and the team. This is why I love Rugby. Such results occur infrequently but when they do...
      France: I think it is important to note that Italy made them look ordinary. Yes they gave away a barrel load of penalties (some of a 'technical' nature), but it is worth reiterating that this is an Italian win, created and completed by the Italians.
      Superb game. Just wonderful. I would love to be in Rome now...

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:44PM

      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers
      ​
      yeah...need alot more karma to make up for that though.
      No skullduggery involved in that result.
      Italy just the better side, that's all

    • Laplante 12 March 2011 4:49PM

      I hardly bother to watch Italy most of the time, but today, they excelled themselves. A great do or die effort and not without skill. They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.

    • nextdoorsdogbarks 12 March 2011 4:53PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!

      Okay- i'll display my ignorance!
      Me no understand
      Apart from thinking your'e pretty happy.....

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      Bravisimo Italia!
      Wonderful game!
      I was convinced that it might get thrown away at the death either through ill-discipline or another reffing travesty.
      Castro, you wily ol' boot tying pirate 😀

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.
      ​
      The only complaint i have about Italy right now is that Castrogiovanni needs to act less as first receiver at times, especially when they get quick ball and have men out wide.
      But under the circumstances, f*ck it!

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 4:59PM

      As I have stated before Italy has become THE leading nation in Ruby. (sorry could not resist)

    • dermott 12 March 2011 5:01PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!
      ​
      I'm very proud of the Azzurri today! Let's go Italy.
      Holy cow what a thrill! Go the Azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • compagnovolpe 12 March 2011 5:03PM

      "oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzurri!
      andiamo Italia"
      T: today I am very proud of the Azzurri!
      let's go Italy!
      "Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzurri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!"
      Dammit, what an emotion!!! Forza azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 5:04PM

      Castro's brilliant, expro. He always moves off line *just enough*, goes into space instead of into tackels, always makes ground, never drops the ball...
      ...they were lucky with that last scrum, 3 resets and the French pushed them backwards 3 times.
      Whoever said France were livving off their front-row was right. Rougerie was passing like a, I don't know, a Tindall today...
      Not using Italy as a stick to beat France with, the England result shows they've got a better pack than Italy - and apparently no one else has.

    • mitchigansmiley 12 March 2011 5:06PM

      Top banana, boys!
      That's shafted me (but probably everyone else too 🙂) in the predictions league, but I couldn't give a flying toss!
      Great, and thoroughly deserved win for the Azzurri, so tense at the death with all those scrums; why didn't the french pop it out for a drop goal? So glad they didn't...
      And expro, I thought of you when the whistle went.
      Enjoy it, your adopted boys deserved it.
      But I knew you'd be straight on here telling us how Italy made the french play badly, but how England against england the french just played badly for themselves...
      Can't have it all ways, my son.

    • expro 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      The real bummer was that this was the 1st game we could not find a decent stream to watch and had to rely on the "live coverage" of the papers. Hopefully there will be other good times for the azzurri. And Mauro is not even playing!!!

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      @expro
      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.
      ​
      Agreed. I felt that one from here in Dublin.
      On another note, all past animosity between me and you aside, I'm delighted for Italian fans and those like you who've adopted Italy. I'm still grining!
      God, I ****ing love this sport!

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      you soft twat
      ​
      fair enough, fair enough - i've calmed down now. apologies.
      if someone can just find me a stream of wales:ireland, my composure will be complete. espn+ not even deigning to show that one.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:24PM

      sorry, that's the only italian phrase i know, memorised on a long train journey through france, humorously enough.

    • sibusisodan 12 March 2011 5:27PM

      massive! well done Italy! Bergamasco had some serious courage to take that last kick.

    • labjo 12 March 2011 5:29PM

      Italy's best ever result. The boys were terrific today. Still can't believe it.

    • Gelion 12 March 2011 5:34PM

      Not that you could see Italy winning this, but I have said this since the competition started:
      The French defence is awful. They have now conceded 81 points against them, just over 20 points per game played so far.
      You are not going to win the championship with a defence as porous as that.
      Great for Italy and something for them to work on - though they are going to have to get more consistent to make an impact in future championships.

    • mattutes 12 March 2011 5:41PM

      This is one of the most important results in 6N history.
      France have been playing like a very good Italy all tournament. They got beat by an excellent Italy today.
      Wonderful comeback, unbelievable desire and what an atmosphere.


 

Mirco Bergamasco kicks Italy to stunning victory over France

• Italy 22-21 France
• Give us your player ratings




  • Mike Averis at the Stadio Flaminio
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 March 2011 16.24 GMT <li class="history">Article history France's Morgan Parra can't stop Andrea Masi scoring a try for Italy during the Six Nations game in Rome. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters With a dogged display that is becoming less of a rarity from Roman ranks, Italy came from 12 points down in the Stadio Flaminio to beat France for the first time in the Six Nations.
    The Italians were behind from the 14th minute until the 74th, when their kicker Mirco Bergamasco landed a touchline penalty – his fifth of the afternoon – to hand Nick Mallett's team victory and their biggest scalp of 11 seasons in the competition.
    Barring the eight-try thumping by England at Twickenham, this has been Mallett's best season in charge and his side now head to Murrayfield on Saturday hoping to ward off a fourth consecutive Six Nations wooden spoon against Scotland.
    For France, it is the end of their dream of taking the championship. Beaten by England and now Italy, events will have to take a dramatic turn today at Twickenham – and in Dublin next Saturday – before they are in with a sniff.
    The first half was furious. Fly-half François Trinh-Duc rained high balls on to the Italian 22 for Aurélien Rougerie and Yannick Jauzion to chase, much as the French have done all championship. The veteran prop Sylvain Marconnet – now playing in his third decade of Test rugby – twice got into the bad books of the referee, Bryce Lawrence, before the French front row started to scrum the pants off Italy. And wing Yoann Huget was taken out in mid-air before Vincent Clerc brought a brief period of calm, chasing his own chip and beating Gonzalo Canale to the ball to end a move in which Trinh-Duc was obstructed and Huget taken out for a second time without the New Zealand referee noticing anything wrong.
    Rougerie came close to making it two a couple of minutes later, the 6ft 4in centre losing control as he stretched a long right arm over the line, but a couple of penalties by Bergamasco to one and a miss, plus a botched conversion by Morgan Parra, narrowed the French lead to 8-6 by 30 minutes.
    Barring a clever jinking run by Canale, the Italian threat was more forward orientated, with Sergio Parisse everywhere, as ever, and by half-time, with a spirited row going on in the Italian coaches box, everyone seemed delighted to take a breather, although Mallett and his assistant, Alessandro Troncon, were at it again in the second half.
    There was little let-up on the pitch, either. Parra got a penalty to stretch the lead, but then the scrum-half administered a particularly brutal kick to the Italian teeth when he ghosted up alongside Trinh-Duc for France's second try five minutes after the restart. Julien Bonnaire, the source of much good work, looked to have got himself isolated, but Trinh-Duc handed off a couple of powder-puff tackles before slipping the ball inside.
    There was a time when Italian heads would have dropped in such circumstances and, when Bergamasco missed a couple of kickable penalties, it looked as though things might go that way. But Andrea Masi brought euphoria to the crowd by getting on the end of a bit of clever work by Tommaso Benvenuti and Fabio Semenzato.
    Bergamasco's conversion and a penalty made it a two-point game and the last 20 minutes were set to be a blinder. Parra and Bergamasco swapped penalties to keep the nerves jangling before the wing landed his final kick from 35 yards out, wide on the left.
    All that remained was the torture of three reset French scrums in the shadow of the Italian posts before the Azzurri could celebrate. After letting Ireland off the hook on the first weekend of the championship, and then pushing Wales all the way, Italy now go to Murrayfield looking to repeat their only away win in the Six Nations, the 37-17 victory over Scotland, in 2007, when they were three tries up in the first six minutes.
    Italy's captain, Sergio Parisse, said: "To beat France at home is a dream. The players, the coaches and squad deserve it. There aren't words to describe how proud I am."
    The France prop Sylvain Marconnet said: "We didn't make things easy for ourselves. We struggled mentally and we need to reflect on it to bounce back. It's infuriating and disappointing because we have the potential, but are not making the most of it."


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    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:28PM

      Fantastico!!!
      Sod the guru and the fantasy leagues!
      This result is great for Rugby
      Not great for us though
      We gotta face these guys in Dunedin later this year

    • Tichtheid 12 March 2011 4:29PM

      Fantastic result. Well done, Italy. The emotion at the end said it all.
      Brilliant.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      i guess nothing compares in importance to tomorrow's calcutta cup, more's the pity.

    • Ardwick1887 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      Superb result! Great display by Italy, albeit against an off-form France. Totally deserved.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:32PM

      also, no MBM, at least not that i could find. it would have been appreciated.

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:33PM

      The Italian commentators are in tears, everyone's in tears. Okay, I slagged off Masi on the other blog. Big effort today. Ran straight, ran hard.
      This French effort has been coming for a while. At the interval, Lièvremont said his team were lacking will. How right. Italy had it in spades.

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      oldenick: It's a PA feed up 10 minutes after the game you soft twat.
      Tell you what, Italy aren't far off the best pack in the NH...

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Incredible game.
      We now know that the Italy result in Twickenham was a freak result, and this Italian side, with a better kicker, could have been a real force at the top end of the table.
      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance, I have rarely seen such a remarkable performance by a fullback in such a close game - especially one who rarely plays in the position.
      And Parisse is the best loose forward in the NH.
      I hope England fans won't use this as a stick to beat France with, because the Italy side that played today was a totally different side to the one that were swatted aside in London. France were poor, but Italy made them poor with their monumental defence and effective moving around of the ball.
      Great to see Italy getting faster ball, and moving it wide, and actually breaking the line - more clean line breaks than France by my reckoning.
      Genius move by Mallett to bring on Burton for last 20 - he brought real control to the Italian line.

    • Jaypx90 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Calm down mate, it was only posted 4 minutes after the game
      Get the result up, key facts and come back with the detailed analysis later

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:35PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      ​
      ah not fair oldenick
      They got this together and available for online comments within 30 mins of the game...not bad going and I say fair play for letting us comment so soon on this
      There will be more written about this game, don't worry

    • chiptooth 12 March 2011 4:36PM

      holy shit! what a great game! forza indeed...
      I'm not too bothered by the poor article, the smart stuff's always below the line here anyway.

    • fluter 12 March 2011 4:37PM

      Bugger, I forgot, I meant to go down to a local bar to watch that.

    • DinGex 12 March 2011 4:39PM

      I'm French but was cheering the Italians on at the end... for the last half-hour or so there was only one team who wanted to win it and one team showing any sign of rhythm and fluidity. They were great, we were our usual shambles, and Lièvremont ought to go to the scaffold.

    • PizzaRe 12 March 2011 4:40PM

      forza italia trending on twitter - is that important (and do I sound like I know what I'm talking about)?

    • HandsSolo 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
      *takes breath*
      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance,
      ​
      You and me both. But he's still not quick. He just had time and space - tons of it - to build up a head of steam. A boy from Abruzzo. Not the rugby capital of Italy.

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:42PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia!
      ​
      At last to have an excited Italian on the rugger blogs here eh

    • avsfan 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      As lara points out, despite the fantasy and guru tables lying in tatters, it is hard to argue with the result, especially the manner in which it was achieved - great comeback by Italy. The England game aside they've been knocking on the door all this 6N.
      I don't watch the T14 much. What has Huget done to get selected?

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      was anyone else convinced the ref would ping italy at one of then final scrums?
      So many great things about this game....the look on Masi's face as he ran those kicks back in a straight line and bounced through French tacklers....
      Zanni was also awesome. He is very underrated - extremely athletic and always does lots of work. I am surprised he is not at a top French or British club.
      Lets not forget a third of that team are in their early twenties and play club rugby in a fairly low level competition. The amount by which they have to raise the game is massive.

    • Meurglys68 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      What a truly wonderful game - I was mesmerised.
      Masi and Parrise - words fail me.
      Bergamasco - the courage and composure required to take those kicks (particularly after missing two) - wonderful.
      To hear the Stadio Flaminio in full voice, to see how much it meant to the supporters and the team. This is why I love Rugby. Such results occur infrequently but when they do...
      France: I think it is important to note that Italy made them look ordinary. Yes they gave away a barrel load of penalties (some of a 'technical' nature), but it is worth reiterating that this is an Italian win, created and completed by the Italians.
      Superb game. Just wonderful. I would love to be in Rome now...

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:44PM

      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers
      ​
      yeah...need alot more karma to make up for that though.
      No skullduggery involved in that result.
      Italy just the better side, that's all

    • Laplante 12 March 2011 4:49PM

      I hardly bother to watch Italy most of the time, but today, they excelled themselves. A great do or die effort and not without skill. They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.

    • nextdoorsdogbarks 12 March 2011 4:53PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!

      Okay- i'll display my ignorance!
      Me no understand
      Apart from thinking your'e pretty happy.....

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      Bravisimo Italia!
      Wonderful game!
      I was convinced that it might get thrown away at the death either through ill-discipline or another reffing travesty.
      Castro, you wily ol' boot tying pirate 😀

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.
      ​
      The only complaint i have about Italy right now is that Castrogiovanni needs to act less as first receiver at times, especially when they get quick ball and have men out wide.
      But under the circumstances, f*ck it!

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 4:59PM

      As I have stated before Italy has become THE leading nation in Ruby. (sorry could not resist)

    • dermott 12 March 2011 5:01PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!
      ​
      I'm very proud of the Azzurri today! Let's go Italy.
      Holy cow what a thrill! Go the Azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • compagnovolpe 12 March 2011 5:03PM

      "oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzurri!
      andiamo Italia"
      T: today I am very proud of the Azzurri!
      let's go Italy!
      "Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzurri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!"
      Dammit, what an emotion!!! Forza azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 5:04PM

      Castro's brilliant, expro. He always moves off line *just enough*, goes into space instead of into tackels, always makes ground, never drops the ball...
      ...they were lucky with that last scrum, 3 resets and the French pushed them backwards 3 times.
      Whoever said France were livving off their front-row was right. Rougerie was passing like a, I don't know, a Tindall today...
      Not using Italy as a stick to beat France with, the England result shows they've got a better pack than Italy - and apparently no one else has.

    • mitchigansmiley 12 March 2011 5:06PM

      Top banana, boys!
      That's shafted me (but probably everyone else too 🙂) in the predictions league, but I couldn't give a flying toss!
      Great, and thoroughly deserved win for the Azzurri, so tense at the death with all those scrums; why didn't the french pop it out for a drop goal? So glad they didn't...
      And expro, I thought of you when the whistle went.
      Enjoy it, your adopted boys deserved it.
      But I knew you'd be straight on here telling us how Italy made the french play badly, but how England against england the french just played badly for themselves...
      Can't have it all ways, my son.

    • expro 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      The real bummer was that this was the 1st game we could not find a decent stream to watch and had to rely on the "live coverage" of the papers. Hopefully there will be other good times for the azzurri. And Mauro is not even playing!!!

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      @expro
      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.
      ​
      Agreed. I felt that one from here in Dublin.
      On another note, all past animosity between me and you aside, I'm delighted for Italian fans and those like you who've adopted Italy. I'm still grining!
      God, I ****ing love this sport!

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      you soft twat
      ​
      fair enough, fair enough - i've calmed down now. apologies.
      if someone can just find me a stream of wales:ireland, my composure will be complete. espn+ not even deigning to show that one.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:24PM

      sorry, that's the only italian phrase i know, memorised on a long train journey through france, humorously enough.

    • sibusisodan 12 March 2011 5:27PM

      massive! well done Italy! Bergamasco had some serious courage to take that last kick.

    • labjo 12 March 2011 5:29PM

      Italy's best ever result. The boys were terrific today. Still can't believe it.

    • Gelion 12 March 2011 5:34PM

      Not that you could see Italy winning this, but I have said this since the competition started:
      The French defence is awful. They have now conceded 81 points against them, just over 20 points per game played so far.
      You are not going to win the championship with a defence as porous as that.
      Great for Italy and something for them to work on - though they are going to have to get more consistent to make an impact in future championships.

    • mattutes 12 March 2011 5:41PM

      This is one of the most important results in 6N history.
      France have been playing like a very good Italy all tournament. They got beat by an excellent Italy today.
      Wonderful comeback, unbelievable desire and what an atmosphere.


 

Mirco Bergamasco kicks Italy to stunning victory over France

• Italy 22-21 France
• Give us your player ratings




  • Mike Averis at the Stadio Flaminio
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 March 2011 16.24 GMT <li class="history">Article history France's Morgan Parra can't stop Andrea Masi scoring a try for Italy during the Six Nations game in Rome. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters With a dogged display that is becoming less of a rarity from Roman ranks, Italy came from 12 points down in the Stadio Flaminio to beat France for the first time in the Six Nations.
    The Italians were behind from the 14th minute until the 74th, when their kicker Mirco Bergamasco landed a touchline penalty – his fifth of the afternoon – to hand Nick Mallett's team victory and their biggest scalp of 11 seasons in the competition.
    Barring the eight-try thumping by England at Twickenham, this has been Mallett's best season in charge and his side now head to Murrayfield on Saturday hoping to ward off a fourth consecutive Six Nations wooden spoon against Scotland.
    For France, it is the end of their dream of taking the championship. Beaten by England and now Italy, events will have to take a dramatic turn today at Twickenham – and in Dublin next Saturday – before they are in with a sniff.
    The first half was furious. Fly-half François Trinh-Duc rained high balls on to the Italian 22 for Aurélien Rougerie and Yannick Jauzion to chase, much as the French have done all championship. The veteran prop Sylvain Marconnet – now playing in his third decade of Test rugby – twice got into the bad books of the referee, Bryce Lawrence, before the French front row started to scrum the pants off Italy. And wing Yoann Huget was taken out in mid-air before Vincent Clerc brought a brief period of calm, chasing his own chip and beating Gonzalo Canale to the ball to end a move in which Trinh-Duc was obstructed and Huget taken out for a second time without the New Zealand referee noticing anything wrong.
    Rougerie came close to making it two a couple of minutes later, the 6ft 4in centre losing control as he stretched a long right arm over the line, but a couple of penalties by Bergamasco to one and a miss, plus a botched conversion by Morgan Parra, narrowed the French lead to 8-6 by 30 minutes.
    Barring a clever jinking run by Canale, the Italian threat was more forward orientated, with Sergio Parisse everywhere, as ever, and by half-time, with a spirited row going on in the Italian coaches box, everyone seemed delighted to take a breather, although Mallett and his assistant, Alessandro Troncon, were at it again in the second half.
    There was little let-up on the pitch, either. Parra got a penalty to stretch the lead, but then the scrum-half administered a particularly brutal kick to the Italian teeth when he ghosted up alongside Trinh-Duc for France's second try five minutes after the restart. Julien Bonnaire, the source of much good work, looked to have got himself isolated, but Trinh-Duc handed off a couple of powder-puff tackles before slipping the ball inside.
    There was a time when Italian heads would have dropped in such circumstances and, when Bergamasco missed a couple of kickable penalties, it looked as though things might go that way. But Andrea Masi brought euphoria to the crowd by getting on the end of a bit of clever work by Tommaso Benvenuti and Fabio Semenzato.
    Bergamasco's conversion and a penalty made it a two-point game and the last 20 minutes were set to be a blinder. Parra and Bergamasco swapped penalties to keep the nerves jangling before the wing landed his final kick from 35 yards out, wide on the left.
    All that remained was the torture of three reset French scrums in the shadow of the Italian posts before the Azzurri could celebrate. After letting Ireland off the hook on the first weekend of the championship, and then pushing Wales all the way, Italy now go to Murrayfield looking to repeat their only away win in the Six Nations, the 37-17 victory over Scotland, in 2007, when they were three tries up in the first six minutes.
    Italy's captain, Sergio Parisse, said: "To beat France at home is a dream. The players, the coaches and squad deserve it. There aren't words to describe how proud I am."
    The France prop Sylvain Marconnet said: "We didn't make things easy for ourselves. We struggled mentally and we need to reflect on it to bounce back. It's infuriating and disappointing because we have the potential, but are not making the most of it."


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    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:28PM

      Fantastico!!!
      Sod the guru and the fantasy leagues!
      This result is great for Rugby
      Not great for us though
      We gotta face these guys in Dunedin later this year

    • Tichtheid 12 March 2011 4:29PM

      Fantastic result. Well done, Italy. The emotion at the end said it all.
      Brilliant.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      i guess nothing compares in importance to tomorrow's calcutta cup, more's the pity.

    • Ardwick1887 12 March 2011 4:30PM

      Superb result! Great display by Italy, albeit against an off-form France. Totally deserved.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 4:32PM

      also, no MBM, at least not that i could find. it would have been appreciated.

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:33PM

      The Italian commentators are in tears, everyone's in tears. Okay, I slagged off Masi on the other blog. Big effort today. Ran straight, ran hard.
      This French effort has been coming for a while. At the interval, Lièvremont said his team were lacking will. How right. Italy had it in spades.

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      oldenick: It's a PA feed up 10 minutes after the game you soft twat.
      Tell you what, Italy aren't far off the best pack in the NH...

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Incredible game.
      We now know that the Italy result in Twickenham was a freak result, and this Italian side, with a better kicker, could have been a real force at the top end of the table.
      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance, I have rarely seen such a remarkable performance by a fullback in such a close game - especially one who rarely plays in the position.
      And Parisse is the best loose forward in the NH.
      I hope England fans won't use this as a stick to beat France with, because the Italy side that played today was a totally different side to the one that were swatted aside in London. France were poor, but Italy made them poor with their monumental defence and effective moving around of the ball.
      Great to see Italy getting faster ball, and moving it wide, and actually breaking the line - more clean line breaks than France by my reckoning.
      Genius move by Mallett to bring on Burton for last 20 - he brought real control to the Italian line.

    • Jaypx90 12 March 2011 4:34PM

      Calm down mate, it was only posted 4 minutes after the game
      Get the result up, key facts and come back with the detailed analysis later

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:35PM

      this write-up is every bit as pathetic as the espn+ en vivo commentary i had to sit through, which also failed to capture the enormity of the game.
      four paragraphs. FOUR!
      ​
      ah not fair oldenick
      They got this together and available for online comments within 30 mins of the game...not bad going and I say fair play for letting us comment so soon on this
      There will be more written about this game, don't worry

    • chiptooth 12 March 2011 4:36PM

      holy shit! what a great game! forza indeed...
      I'm not too bothered by the poor article, the smart stuff's always below the line here anyway.

    • fluter 12 March 2011 4:37PM

      Bugger, I forgot, I meant to go down to a local bar to watch that.

    • DinGex 12 March 2011 4:39PM

      I'm French but was cheering the Italians on at the end... for the last half-hour or so there was only one team who wanted to win it and one team showing any sign of rhythm and fluidity. They were great, we were our usual shambles, and Lièvremont ought to go to the scaffold.

    • PizzaRe 12 March 2011 4:40PM

      forza italia trending on twitter - is that important (and do I sound like I know what I'm talking about)?

    • HandsSolo 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
      *takes breath*
      HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers

    • dermott 12 March 2011 4:41PM

      I was slating Masi as slow and ineffective in the week, but what a performance,
      ​
      You and me both. But he's still not quick. He just had time and space - tons of it - to build up a head of steam. A boy from Abruzzo. Not the rugby capital of Italy.

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:42PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia!
      ​
      At last to have an excited Italian on the rugger blogs here eh

    • avsfan 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      As lara points out, despite the fantasy and guru tables lying in tatters, it is hard to argue with the result, especially the manner in which it was achieved - great comeback by Italy. The England game aside they've been knocking on the door all this 6N.
      I don't watch the T14 much. What has Huget done to get selected?

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      was anyone else convinced the ref would ping italy at one of then final scrums?
      So many great things about this game....the look on Masi's face as he ran those kicks back in a straight line and bounced through French tacklers....
      Zanni was also awesome. He is very underrated - extremely athletic and always does lots of work. I am surprised he is not at a top French or British club.
      Lets not forget a third of that team are in their early twenties and play club rugby in a fairly low level competition. The amount by which they have to raise the game is massive.

    • Meurglys68 12 March 2011 4:43PM

      What a truly wonderful game - I was mesmerised.
      Masi and Parrise - words fail me.
      Bergamasco - the courage and composure required to take those kicks (particularly after missing two) - wonderful.
      To hear the Stadio Flaminio in full voice, to see how much it meant to the supporters and the team. This is why I love Rugby. Such results occur infrequently but when they do...
      France: I think it is important to note that Italy made them look ordinary. Yes they gave away a barrel load of penalties (some of a 'technical' nature), but it is worth reiterating that this is an Italian win, created and completed by the Italians.
      Superb game. Just wonderful. I would love to be in Rome now...

    • laraxwell 12 March 2011 4:44PM

      Stick that where the sun don't shine Henry, you handball cheating feckers
      ​
      yeah...need alot more karma to make up for that though.
      No skullduggery involved in that result.
      Italy just the better side, that's all

    • Laplante 12 March 2011 4:49PM

      I hardly bother to watch Italy most of the time, but today, they excelled themselves. A great do or die effort and not without skill. They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.

    • nextdoorsdogbarks 12 March 2011 4:53PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!

      Okay- i'll display my ignorance!
      Me no understand
      Apart from thinking your'e pretty happy.....

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      Bravisimo Italia!
      Wonderful game!
      I was convinced that it might get thrown away at the death either through ill-discipline or another reffing travesty.
      Castro, you wily ol' boot tying pirate 😀

    • expro 12 March 2011 4:54PM

      They need to turn chances into tries more often, though.
      ​
      The only complaint i have about Italy right now is that Castrogiovanni needs to act less as first receiver at times, especially when they get quick ball and have men out wide.
      But under the circumstances, f*ck it!

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 4:59PM

      As I have stated before Italy has become THE leading nation in Ruby. (sorry could not resist)

    • dermott 12 March 2011 5:01PM

      oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzuri!
      andiamo Italia
      Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzuri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!
      ​
      I'm very proud of the Azzurri today! Let's go Italy.
      Holy cow what a thrill! Go the Azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • compagnovolpe 12 March 2011 5:03PM

      "oggi sono molto orgoglioso degli Azzurri!
      andiamo Italia"
      T: today I am very proud of the Azzurri!
      let's go Italy!
      "Porca miseria che emozioni!!! Forza azzurri, niente cucchiaio di legno!!"
      Dammit, what an emotion!!! Forza azzurri, no wooden spoon!!

    • FunkyBadgerII 12 March 2011 5:04PM

      Castro's brilliant, expro. He always moves off line *just enough*, goes into space instead of into tackels, always makes ground, never drops the ball...
      ...they were lucky with that last scrum, 3 resets and the French pushed them backwards 3 times.
      Whoever said France were livving off their front-row was right. Rougerie was passing like a, I don't know, a Tindall today...
      Not using Italy as a stick to beat France with, the England result shows they've got a better pack than Italy - and apparently no one else has.

    • mitchigansmiley 12 March 2011 5:06PM

      Top banana, boys!
      That's shafted me (but probably everyone else too 🙂) in the predictions league, but I couldn't give a flying toss!
      Great, and thoroughly deserved win for the Azzurri, so tense at the death with all those scrums; why didn't the french pop it out for a drop goal? So glad they didn't...
      And expro, I thought of you when the whistle went.
      Enjoy it, your adopted boys deserved it.
      But I knew you'd be straight on here telling us how Italy made the french play badly, but how England against england the french just played badly for themselves...
      Can't have it all ways, my son.

    • expro 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.

    • calcioexpert 12 March 2011 5:07PM

      The real bummer was that this was the 1st game we could not find a decent stream to watch and had to rely on the "live coverage" of the papers. Hopefully there will be other good times for the azzurri. And Mauro is not even playing!!!

    • CrashBall 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      @expro
      On another point (I know you;re all watching)
      if Reddan is allowed to play on now after clearly going "out" for a few seconds the game does his long term health a disservice.
      That's a fairly clear concussion.
      ​
      Agreed. I felt that one from here in Dublin.
      On another note, all past animosity between me and you aside, I'm delighted for Italian fans and those like you who've adopted Italy. I'm still grining!
      God, I ****ing love this sport!

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:15PM

      you soft twat
      ​
      fair enough, fair enough - i've calmed down now. apologies.
      if someone can just find me a stream of wales:ireland, my composure will be complete. espn+ not even deigning to show that one.

    • oldenick 12 March 2011 5:24PM

      sorry, that's the only italian phrase i know, memorised on a long train journey through france, humorously enough.

    • sibusisodan 12 March 2011 5:27PM

      massive! well done Italy! Bergamasco had some serious courage to take that last kick.

    • labjo 12 March 2011 5:29PM

      Italy's best ever result. The boys were terrific today. Still can't believe it.

    • Gelion 12 March 2011 5:34PM

      Not that you could see Italy winning this, but I have said this since the competition started:
      The French defence is awful. They have now conceded 81 points against them, just over 20 points per game played so far.
      You are not going to win the championship with a defence as porous as that.
      Great for Italy and something for them to work on - though they are going to have to get more consistent to make an impact in future championships.

    • mattutes 12 March 2011 5:41PM

      This is one of the most important results in 6N history.
      France have been playing like a very good Italy all tournament. They got beat by an excellent Italy today.
      Wonderful comeback, unbelievable desire and what an atmosphere.


 

South Africa's Dale Steyn and Robin Peterson sink slack India

India 296 all out (48.4 overs)
South Africa 300-7 (49.4 overs)
South Africa win by three wickets




  • Andy Bull in Nagpur
  • guardian.co.uk, Saturday 12 March 2011 18.45 GMT <li class="history">Article history South Africa's AB de Villiers plays a shot during a his side's victory over India in the World Cup. Photograph: Gemunu Amarasinghe/AP The tortoise and the hare is an old enough story, you would have thought the 50,000 people in the VCA stadium in Nagpur knew how it ended by now.
    But this was another thrillingly unpredictable match, the outcome uncertain until the final over. India sprinted to 267 for one inside 40 overs after winning the toss. And then they stopped for a nap just as they were reaching the finish.
    They lost nine wickets for 29 runs, collapsing in a heap as Dale Steyn bowled too fast and too straight for a succession of batsmen hell-bent on slogging their way up towards 350. Instead they finished with 296. In contrast, South Africa crept cautiously along until the final 10 overs.
    At the start of the final over, bowled by the tentative Ashish Nehra, it looked as though they had left it too late. They needed 13 from it, and their No8 batsman Robin Peterson was on strike. He threw his bat wildly at the first two balls, edging the first past the stumps for four, and walloping the next over cow corner for six. Two more to fine leg and another four through the covers and it was all over. The crowd fell into stunned silence, and Peterson's teammates ran out on to the pitch, elated that this time, for once, no one was going to get to call them chokers.
    Instead it will be India who are facing that. Two good innings from Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir and one truly great one from Sachin Tendulkar, who scored his 99th international century, had taken them to a seemingly unassailable position. But they started to limp in their batting powerplay, and then sank altogether as Steyn took five wickets for four runs in 16 balls.
    South Africa set off at a crawl, and stayed at that pace until the 40th over. At one point Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla batted through 99 balls together and scored only one four. The run rate required leapt up to eight an over as Kallis and Amla crept along in ones and twos. When Amla was caught behind and Kallis was run out, South Africa still needed 124 from 84 balls. And somehow, they did it, even though wickets kept falling. AB de Villiers clobbered 52 before being brilliantly caught in the deep by Virat Kohli. JP Duminy was stumped soon after and the match was surely slipping away. But Johan Botha and Faf du Plessis are made of sterner stuff. They put on a rapid 32 for the seventh wicket, and Peterson was able to close it out.
    They dragged back a game that had been drifting away from them ever since the first ball of the day. Sehwag hit it for four, just as he has done in every single one of the five innings he has played in this World Cup. It is becoming a trademark flourish, a little like Zorro announcing his arrival by leaping feet first through the window.
    Sehwag gambled, as he always will, edging a catch past the wicketkeeper in the second over, flashing and missing at a vicious off-cutter from Morné Morkel. But the cards kept falling in his favour. He faced 37 of the first 46 balls, and made 42 runs from them.
    Tendulkar must have felt he was missing out. Typically, he plays the composed counterpoint to Sehwag, but his partner's mood must have been infectious. He scored two breathtaking boundaries off successive balls from Morkel, one through cover and another down the ground. And then the fun really started. "Cost of tickets: INR 6,000" read one banner draped over the boundary railings. "Cost of bandages after police lathi charge: INR 10,000. Bunking off office to see Sachin and Sehwag: Priceless."
    They were right. For a little over 17 overs they were simply on another plane. They played hooks, pulls, cuts, drives, every shot in the textbook, and in Tendulkar's case they were all executed as the MCC intended.
    South Africa, missing their leg-spinner Imran Tahir because he had a broken finger, looked utterly helpless. Steyn's first four overs cost 34, one run cheaper than Morkel managed. The first 10 overs went for 87 runs, the first 15, 128. Tendulkar's half-century took just 33 balls, Sehwag's 44. The latter fell, cutting a ball on to his stumps, but Tendulkar cruised serenely onwards, together with Gambhir.
    His century was another reminder, were it needed, that he is still, at the age of 37, the greatest batsman playing the game. But for the second time in this tournament a majestic Tendulkar hundred was not enough to win the match. Most of India is praying that he will get his hundredth hundred in the knock-out stages of this World Cup. They will have to hope that this is not a trend that will continue.

 
Today's Games
Today's Games Week 1: 01/07/11 - 01/09/11 Week 2: 01/14/11 - 01/16/11 Week 3: 01/21/11 - 01/23/11 Week 4: 01/28/11 - 01/30/11 Week 14: 02/02/11 - 04/13/11 Week 5: 02/04/11 - 02/06/11 Week 6: 02/11/11 - 02/13/11 Week 7: 02/18/11 - 02/20/11 Week 8: 02/25/11 - 02/27/11 Week 9: 03/04/11 - 03/06/11 Week 10: 03/11/11 - 03/13/11 Week 11: 03/18/11 - 03/20/11 Week 12: 04/01/11 - 04/03/11 Week 13: 04/08/11 - 04/10/11 Week 15: 04/16/11 - 04/17/11 Week 16: 04/22/11 - 04/24/11 Week 17: 04/29/11 - 05/01/11​

Saturday, March 12, 2011​
Week 10​

Estadio Victor Manuel Reyna
Expand


0 : 2
Final



Match Stats | Match Trax
Goals Juan Carlos García Alvarez (8')

Israel López (65')

(39') Alan Zamora
(65') Guillermo Rojas
(78') Christian Váldez
Cards Rubens Sambueza (38')

(46') Antonio Pedroza
Damián Manso

(46') Jorge Rodríguez
Alan Zamora

(59') Edgar Andrade
Oscar Razo

Substitutions César Moreno (51')

Eduardo Lillingston


Gustavo Cabral (56')

Rafael Medina


Ramón Morales (85')

Juan Carlos García Alvarez



Estadio La Corregidora
Expand


2 : 1
Final



Match Stats | Match Trax
(27') Eder Borelli
(38') Isaac Acuña
Goals José Joel González (53')

(29') Isaac Acuña
(68') Efraín Cortés
(78') Carlos Bueno
Cards Roberto Juárez (10')

José Joel González (68')

(51') Daniel Váldez
Isaac Acuña

(63') Gabino Velasco
Eder Borelli

(85') Diego García
Carlos Bueno

Substitutions Gabriel Pereyra (46')

Rodrigo Salinas


Brayan Martínez (81')

Edgar Lugo


Aarón Padilla (85')

Walter Jiménez



Estadio Universitaro
Expand


1 : 1
Final



Match Stats | Match Trax
(44') Héctor Mancilla
Goals Wilmer Aguirre (60')

Cards Omar Hernández (44')

Jaime Correa (45')

Substitutions Noé Maya (76')

Michael Arroyo


Juan Cuevas (82')

Othoniel Arce


Juan Manuel Cavallo (88')

Wilmer Aguirre



Estadio Miguel Hidalgo
Expand


0 : 4
Final



Match Stats | Match Trax
Goals Francisco Fonseca (21')

Fernando Navarro (23')

Christian Bermúdez (28')

Francisco Fonseca (42')

(38') Paul Aguilar
(58') Francisco Torres
(74') Braulio Luna
Cards Edgar Solís (50')

Luis Venegas (65')

Luis Angel Landín (81')

Eder Mármol (82')

(32') Juan Carlos Rojas
Gerardo Rodríguez

(45') Rodolfo Cota
Miguel Calero

(60') Hérculez Gómez
Edgar Benítez

Substitutions Mathias Cardacio (59')

Arturo Muñoz


Luis Angel Landín (61')

Giancarlo Maldonado


Eder Mármol (71')

Francisco Fonseca



Estadio Jalisco
Expand


1 : 1
Final



Match Stats | Match Trax
 
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