Luke McLaughlin’s piece is in and with that I’ll sign off. What an effort from Luke to get something cohesive on the whistle. I promise you, cracking last minute nail-biters are brilliant, unless you have to file a report. So well done him.
And well done Italy. They’ll rue the missed opportunity but there’s no question they’d have taken a draw before kick-off. A remarkable performance from their backline and loose forwards and credit to their tight five for growing in the game.
Lots to ponder for France who have looked disjointed, bereft of ideas and low on confidence. Can they turn it around? We’ll find out in two weeks’ time when they head to Cardiff.
Thanks for keeping me company. Arrivederci!
Loads of concerns for France. Good point being made here. Even when they changed most of the pack in the second half they faded as the match went on.
The biggest concern for France is that they lost a backline player, not a forward, but their pack looked completely cooked at the end there. Bossed in the scrums. Slow around the park. Big boys but are they flat track bullies from 0-45mins?
— A-P (@rugby_ap) February 25, 2024
