Italy skipper Luca Bigi admits he will have to work hard to keep the spirits up in camp this week after the Azzurri suffered an eighth defeat in a row by going down to France in Paris.
In their final group-stage match of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup, Italy only trailed 10-5 at the break but when Jacopo Trulla was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on early in the second half, France scored three tries in eight minutes to take the game away from the visitors.
The Azzurri eventually lost 36-5 and Bigi was left frustrated once again by their inability to produce an 80-minute display, although will try to put a pep in the squad’s step ahead of a game against the team that finishes third in Group A on Finals Weekend.
“Trulla’s yellow card put us in trouble but we have to be consistent and effective for all 80 minutes and react to a decision like this,” said Bigi.
“We learned a lesson but this group struggles daily to try and achieve their goals – mine now is to keep the group’s energy alive for the next match.”
Carlo Canna crossed for the first try of the match after lovely attacking play from Paolo Garbisi but Jonathan Danty’s powerful score gave France the lead just before half-time.
Gabin Villiere, Baptiste Serin and Teddy Thomas then all crossed while Trulla was in the sin-bin before Sekou Macalou dotted down at the death to complete a convincing win for Les Bleus.
Nonetheless, Bigi believes there were a few positives for his side to take but wants to see some introspection from every Italy player before they attempt to finish the Autumn Nations Cup on a high next weekend.
“We knew we were facing a heavy and competent pack in the lineout, and I think our forwards held up well,” he added.
“But we return home with a defeat and each of us must make an examination of our performance.
“I think the scrum worked at a good level but the game was lost and, regardless of the role of each of us, we all need to understand what went wrong and work hard ahead of next week’s game to finish the Autumn Nations Cup in the best possible way.”
