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RBS NATIONS: France and Wales face off in `final'

France's Aurelien Rougerie, foreground, scores a try against Italy during their match at the Stade de France Stadium, in Saint-Denis, France, on Sunday. PHOTO: EPA

Fortuitous scheduling means the Six Nations will have an appropriate finale when France put their title on the line against unbeaten Wales in Cardiff next weekend.

France defeated Italy 25-13 on Sunday to retain hope of a third successive championship.

Their 10th-straight defeat of the Azzurri since 1997 also prevented Wales from winning the Six Nations until the last match next Saturday, when the Red Dragons will also go after the Grand Slam.

France, who have won the last two tournaments on points difference from Ireland, will need to beat Wales by 20 points to keep the title.

That seemingly unlikely margin might have been reduced had France coach Marc Lievremont not made nine changes to the starting lineup after the loss to England two weeks ago, including debuts for three players on Sunday. Two more newcomers came from the reserves, bringing to 13 the number of new caps introduced by the new coach.

France fullback Anthony Floch scored the only try of the first half at Stade de France, and center Yannick Jauzion and winger Aurelien Rougerie crossed in the second.

Prop Martin Castrogiovanni crossed for Italy's try midway through the second half to cut the deficit to five, but France did enough to win.

"Victory is the most important thing," Lievremont said. "It's true that there was an enormous amount of errors in our play, but we were expecting that."

Lievremont praised Italy's ability to put his experimental side under pressure.

"I had a lot of apprehension before the match because of the quality of our opponent," he said. "Italy was solid going forward and forced us to make mistakes in defense."

Lievremont was to announce his squad to face Wales yesterday and is unlikely to experiment further.

"I don't think we will call up any new players," Lievremont said. "On the other hand, we want to see others coming back."

Flyhalf Francois Trinh-Duc's up and under to the left was patted down by Julien Malzieu into Floch's hands for his first international try.

Italy fullback Andrea Marcato's first penalty cut the lead to 7-3, then Italy wasted a great chance to take the lead in the 22nd minute when center Gonzalo Canale fumbled the ball close to the line.

Penalties by Marcato and France's Dimitri Yachvili took the score to 13-6 at the break, then Yachvili's clever chip over the defense bounced perfectly for Jauzion to scoop and score in the 53rd.

Castrogiovanni's try offered Italy brief hope at only 18-13 behind, before France center Damien Traille charged into Italy's defense in the 66th and fed Rougerie for his 21st international try.

Italy face Scotland next Saturday to avoid the wooden spoon, while England will host Ireland.
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