France head coach Fabien Galthie, claimed that despite his team’s bonus-point victory over Italy in Rome to start their Six Nations title defence, he was left with a “bitter taste.”
Les Bleus took an early 19-6 lead after tries from Thibaud Flament, Thomas Ramos and Ethan Dumortier, and looked set to race away for a big win against Italy. Instead, the minnows made them work for a hard fought victory.
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Having been so far in front, France fell behind midway through the second half before replacement flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert’s try clinched 29-24 win.
Galthie knows France must regroup to topple top-ranked Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
“We are satisfied to have won it, to have taken the bonus point – two of the objectives we set ourselves – but we must admit that it was hard,”Galthie told L’Equipe.
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“The performance was mixed to say the least, it leaves us with a bitter taste. We didn’t achieve all our goals in this game, that’s clear.
“But we have the right, collectively, not to always be on top, always be in line with our expectations that have evolved over the past two years. We must say that winning an international match, in the tournament, away, is already important. Now we are aware that we must do much better.”
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