Italy came within inches of securing a famous victory over France at the end of their Six Nations clash in Paris on Sunday afternoon. The visitors, who have only won two games in the competition since 2015, produced a brilliant collective showing to push France all the way despite being clear underdogs.
France drew first blood in the early stages of the match, with Charles Ollivon crossing over to put the hosts in front after just seven minutes. The two teams went on to kick a penalty each to ensure the score was poised at 10-7 at the halfway point.
Italy were given a lifeline just after the break when France were reduced to 14 men, with Jonathan Danty seeing red for an illegal tackle on Ignacio Brex. The underdogs eventually made the most of their numerical advantage to draw level in the closing stages through Ange Capusso, who pounced on a clever offload from Leonardo Marin to score in the corner.
The visitors were given a huge opportunity to secure a famous comeback victory with the last action of the game as France conceded a penalty in their own half. Paolo Garbisi stepped up to take the decisive kick but ended up hitting the post, with the miss forcing Italy to settle for a 13-13 draw.
Garbisi was ultimately forced to rush his kick, with the ball falling off the tee as the shot clock ticked down to five seconds. He quickly placed it back in position and swung his leg at it, but was unable to split the posts in spite of his best efforts.
Italy’s exhausted players looked despondent as the referee blew the full-time whistle, having come so close to an incredible result in Paris only to be denied at the last second. They are yet to win a single match in the Six Nations this year, losing to England on the opening weekend before finding themselves on the wrong end of a 36-0 thrashing by Ireland.
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