France rugby union head coach Fabien Galthié warned his players of a likely backlash from Italy on Friday following their humiliating 96-17 loss to New Zealand last week.
France need to beat Italy at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon to secure a place in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Galthié’s men have won all three of their matches in Group A. But after New Zealand’s 73-0 romp past Uruguay on Thursday night, should Italy win, the Italians will qualify in second place.
“We’re going up against a wounded team,” said Galthié who anointed Charles Ollivon as skipper in the absence of the injured Antoine Dupont.
“We’re expecting a very strong reaction from the Italians,” Galthié added.
“They’ve made some changes and some players are back in the starting line-up. They have everything to gain.”
France have won 44 of the 47 Test matches played between the sides. Italy’s last victory came in Rome during the 2013 Six Nations tournament.
Change
“We’ve no doubt that Italy won’t play the same way as they did against New Zealand,” said Ollivon who will captain the side for the first time since leading the team out against Japan in November 2022 in Toulouse.
“We expect a lot of commitment from them in the first 20 minutes but it’s up to us to be consistent for 80 minutes,” he added. “It’s going to be a tough game.”
“My game is different to Antoine’s,” Lucu added. “So there’s no comparison.
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