Captain Baptiste Serin says he was proud of his side’s performance against Italy, as five players made their France debut in a 36-5 victory in the Autumn Nations Cup.
Serin, captaining the side in Charles Ollivon’s place, was among five try-scorers for France on the night as they sealed top spot in Group B and booked a place in next Sunday’s final against England.
Tries from Jonathan Danty, Gabin Villiere, Serin, Teddy Thomas and Sekou Macalou gave Fabien Galthié’s men a tenth straight victory over the Azzurri.
“I enjoy the captaincy without taking too much to my head,” said scrum-half Serin, who scored his sixth international try in Paris.
“I tried to make myself available to all the new players this week and to bring confidence. I wanted them to know they could come and talk to me about play and stress management. But everyone responded brilliantly, from the young to the old.
“It was a difficult first half due to the short time we had to prepare for the game – we expected it. But I remember that we never gave up anything, they came at us several times and we kept answering.
“I’m proud and happy for the new ones who start like this. It was not easy to evolve with a single group training in the week.”
Victory at the Stade de France means Les Bleus will end the year facing the same opposition they started against – England, who they beat 24-17 in their Guinness Six Nations opener back in February.
And head coach Fabien Galthié echoed his captain’s observations, heaping praise on his side for their second-half display over the Italians.
“It was a youthful France side and we ended the first half with players who had a bit of pressure and little collective experience,” added Galthié.
“However, In the second half we got closer, we limited the number of passes, and we managed to slowly gain the upper hand over the Italians, finishing five tries, including four in second half, 26-0, that’s perfect.”
