- Written by Alastair Telfer
- bbc sports
image source, Getty Images
Ange Capozzo plays club rugby for Toulouse, France
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Guinness 6 Nations: France v Italy |
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Attempt: Oribon pen: ramos 2 Cons: Ramos |
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Attempt: capozzo pen: Paige Lillo, Garbisi Cons: Garbisi |
Paolo Garbisi's penalty hit the post in stoppage time as Italy missed out on their first Six Nations win in France.
The fly-half looked set to seal a historic victory, but the ball fell off the tee and the shot clock resulted in a rushed attempt.
Ange Capozzo's late try and Garbisi's difficult conversion saw Italy equalize against the 14-man hosts.
Center Jonathan Danti saw his high tackle escalate to a red card during a halftime review.
The 31-year-old collided head-on with Juan Ignacio Breix in an upright tackle at the end of a frustrating first half for the Frenchman.
The hosts dominated from the start, with Charles Ollivon scoring the opening try, but they lacked precision throughout.
The Azzurri, who beat France twice in Rome during the Six Nations, stayed in touch thanks to penalties from Martin Paget-Lello and Garbisi.
Despite bringing on extra players throughout the second half, Italy never threatened until the final stages, when history was in sight.
The draw means Italy's victory in Cardiff two years ago is their only win in their last 45 attempts.
France's troubles continue
France has yet to regain its pre-World Cup form. Many believed they would continue to win the Webb Ellis Cup at home.
Despite their controversial victory at Murrayfield, France were still reeling from the devastation of their World Cup exit at home and were unable to find their attacking flow.
The hosts looked as if they had thrown everything away when Ollivon juggled an offload before grounding the ball to score an early try.
The roof of the Stade Pierre Mauroy closed, helping to create an emotional atmosphere in Lille, and 19-year-old lock Posolo Tuilagi responded to the energy with a strong carry on his debut.
The 2022 Grand Slam champions were forced to make changes to their backline in the second half following Dante's sending off and injury to fly-half Mathieu Jalibert.
The shock livened up an unstructured final 40 minutes when Italy showed star back Capozzo a sharp hand diving into a corner.
Garbisi's confidence in scoring the extra showed that he could have far more easily scored the penalty to win the match.
However, after an exchange of balls had been forced and the timer had almost expired, the flyhalf's kick was not as clean as it should have been.
Italy remain bottom of the table and will next play Scotland on March 9, while fourth-placed France travel to Cardiff to face Wales on March 10.
France: Ramos. Penault, Fickou, Danti, Rebel, Jalibert, Luc. Bayu, Mauvaka, Atonio, Woki, Tuilagi, Budegend, Olivon (Captain), Cross.
Replacement: Marchand, Taofifenua, Aldegueri, Taofifenua, Luma, Abadi, Le Garec, Moefana.
Italy: Capozzo. Menoncello, Brex, Mori, Ioane, Garbisi, Paige Lillo. Fischetti, Nicotera, Girocchi, Cannone, Luzza, Favret, Ramaro (captain), Vincent.
Replacement: Lucchesi, Spagnuolo, Ferrari, Canali, Zambonin, Zuliani, Varny, Marin.
Referee: Christoph Ridley (UK)
