France rise to the top as Villiere hat-trick seals Six Nations bonus-point win over Italy

Azzurri lost for record-extending 33rd consecutive time in tournament Stade de France

Gabin Villiere was the star for France during the Six Nations match against Italy at Stade de France. Fetty

Winger Gabin Villiere ran in a hat-trick as favourites France began their Six Nations title bid with a thumping 37-10 bonus-point win over Italy at Stade de France on Sunday.

The Azzurri lost for a record-extending 33rd consecutive time in the tournament despite leading early in the first half.

Before kick-off, the 62,187 crowd at the Stade de France paid their respects to former France fly-half Guy Laporte, who died last month aged 69, with a round of applause.

One major absence from the stands was the hosts' coach Fabien Galthie as the former Test captain watched the game 40km away in the team hotel after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Azzurri were looking for a first Championship win since 2015 and their first ever in Paris and took a surprise lead when debutant Tommaso Menoncello gathered a kick to finish in the corner.

France struck back with Anthony Jelonch and Villiere tries and earned an eight-point lead into halftime.

Villiere ran through the Italian defence to cross again after the break before Damian Penaud added the bonus-point score, and Villiere dived over for his third.

"You're never alone in scoring tries, it's the work done beforehand that counts," Villiere told France Televisions.

"With the wind and the rain they put us under a lot of pressure but we remained calm.

"The score is there, the bonus point is there, we're not going to complain," he added.

"You could tell after 20 minutes we were lacking rugby together. Through the game I thought the boys did well," France manager Raphael Ibanez told ITV.

"Five tries and five points is good. Villiere is a warrior. He is a very good finisher. He is a good example for all of his team mates for his spirit."

France are level with Ireland on five points at the top of the table after the opening round, but ahead of them on points difference going into their meeting in Paris next Saturday.

"For next week we have to step up in every department. Ireland are not fourth in world ranking for nothing, the game they played yesterday was good," Ibanez added.

Italy face England in Rome next Sunday, where both sides will be looking to bounce back from opening-day defeats after the Englishmen lost in Scotland.

France kicked off the 2022 Six Nations as the favourites, having impressed in a November win over New Zealand, but they were without Galthie.

On the other hand, not much was expected from the Italians who were on a record 32-match Championship losing streak, and Jaminet’s boot soon had the hosts in front.

But the Azzurri, led by coach Kieran Crowley for the first time in the Six Nations, responded when Paolo Garbisi’s cross-field kick was plucked out of the air by 19-year-old Menoncello, who became the youngest Six Nations try scorer in 55 years.

An impressive start from Italy was undone when Stephen Varney's poor pass was intercepted by Jelonch for a simple run-in, and Villiere slid in at the corner in the final act of the first half after Garbisi and Melvyn Jaminet traded penalties.

France increased the pressure in the second half, but had to work hard to break down a stubborn Italian defence.

Gregory Alldritt’s knee-high offload sent Villiere through for France’s third try, and Penaud opened up a 20-point lead by exchanging passes with French captain Antoine Dupont to pull the Azzurri defence apart.

With the clock in the red, Villiere dived in at the corner to become the first Frenchman to score a Six Nations hat-trick since Vincent Clerc against Ireland in 2008.

"I'm not satisfied with the end result," Italy coach Crowley told reporters.

"I'm very happy with the heart and some of the aspects shown by the team, they put everything in but we were not quite accurate enough," he added.