France v Italy Prediction, Preview & Odds – Rugby World Cup

We have a France v Italy prediction plus the latest odds for you ahead of the finale in Pool A with both sides vying for a quarter-final spot.

How To Watch France v Italy

France v Italy Time

France will play Italy at 8pm on Friday, October 6th.

France v Italy Location

The game will be played at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu.

TV Channel

If you are in Ireland you can watch France v Italy on RTÉ 2 with pre-match coverage from 7.35pm.

In the United Kingdom France v Italy will be broadcast on ITV1 with coverage beginning at 7.30pm.

Live Stream

If you are in Ireland you can stream this game on RTÉ Player.

In the UK you can stream France v Italy on ITVX.

France v Italy Odds

France are 1/50 favourites to win and advance to the quarter-finals. Italy are priced at 14/1 in the match betting odds while the draw is currently 100/1.

Click Below For Our LIVE France v Italy Odds

Handicap Betting

France: -27 @ 10/11

Italy: +27 @ 10/11

Handicap Draw: -27 @ 18/1

France v Italy Preview

France’s Form

2023 Rugby World Cup Form

France opened their Rugby World Cup campaign with a 27-13 victory against New Zealand on the opening night of the tournament. The tries that evening came from Penaud and Jaminet while Ramos hit 1/1 conversions and 5/7 penalties.

The French followed that up with a 27-12 victory against Uruguay in their second outing. Uruguay were within touching distance for much of the game which would have given this side a scare but the heavily rotated team got the job done in the end. That rest for key starters could prove crucial come the latter stages of this Rugby World Cup.

Next up for Les Bleus was a matchup with Pool A minnows Namibia. The Namibians proved no match as France ran rampant with 13 tries in a 96-point effort. The highlight of the game was Damian Penaud’s hat-trick who as the wing left his mark on the tournament once again.

Form Coming Into The 2023 Rugby World Cup

World Cup hosts France are looking to win their first-ever Rugby World Cup with their best finish being a runners-up finish in 1987, 1999 and 2011. At the 2019 tournament, they were eliminated at the Quarter-Final stage by Wales.

Despite being home to some of the finest Rugby talent for decades, they’ve regularly underperformed on the biggest stage of them all. However, current French Head Coach Fabien Galthié could be the man to turn those fortunes around.

Since being appointed in 2019 he guided them to a 2022 Grand Slam victory and came into this tournament with a win rate of 80% which is by far the best in the country’s history. This includes seven wins from nine games this year with the first of those two losses coming against Ireland in March.

In their warm-up for the tournament, France played four matches, losing their first 25-21 to Scotland but they avenged that defeat in the return game 30-27. In the following two games, normal service was resumed with a 34-17 win against Fiji and a 41-17 victory over Australia.

Italy’s Form

2023 Rugby World Cup Form

The fixture list was kind to Italy at the start of this Rugby World Cup. In their opening game they faced Namibia who they beat 52-8 to get their World Cup campaign up and running.

Gli Azzurri then followed that up with a 38-17 victory against Uruguay in the next round. The Italians didn’t have it all their own way in that game however with Uruguay leading up until the 52nd minute.

Next up for Italy would be a massive step up in class as they faced the All Blacks. Many expected this Italian side to keep this game competitive. However this match turned out to be anything but competitive. New Zealand dismantled Italy in what would end up as a 96-17 loss for the Italians.

Italy will now need to beat France this Friday to qualify for the quarter-finals. A tall task especially given that France will of course have home advantage.

Form Coming Into The 2023 Rugby World Cup

Kieran Crowley has been Head Coach of Italy since leaving Benetton Treviso in 2021 and he has already helped them to victories against two Tier 1 Nations. The first a 21-22 victory against Wales in the 2022 Six Nations, the second being a 28-27 win over Australia during the November Series.

Generally, the trends are positive for Italy. In the Six Nations this year they drove France close at home, only losing 24-29. They also came within 17 points of their opponents in the remaining games which indicates they can be competitive with the top rugby nations now.

In the run-up to the Rugby World Cup Italy lost their opening two warm-up games 25-13 against Scotland and 33-17 against Ireland. However, that was followed by two wins 57-7 against Romania and 42-21 against Japan.

Key Players To Watch

Thomas Ramos

Thomas Ramos is the joint-favourite to be the Top Points Scorer at the tournament at 6/4 after his 41 point total to date at this tournament. Johnny Sexton is the other co-favourite with 45 points to his name ahead of the final round of pool games.

Ramos is a dual threat for France when on the field with his ability to score in open play and from the kicking tee. The Toulouse man will start this game against Italy at full-back which should give him a great opportunity to rack up a big tally of points if France can dominate in the way that many expect them to.

Thomas Ramos, 🇫🇷

Ramos is one of the form fullbacks in the world right now, and I think he'll light up this Rugby World Cup!

To see more of his highlights, click the link here: https://t.co/DJbqQSddIn pic.twitter.com/yz3j6cKmKu

— Andrew Forde (@andrewfrugby) September 7, 2023

Tommaso Allan

The Italian fly-half has been in excellent form from the kicking tee in this tournament. He opened his account hitting 7/7 conversions and 1/1 penalties in their opening game against Namibia. In their second Pool A game he hit 5/5 conversions against Uruguay.

Despite their big defeat against New Zealand, Allan continued his impeccable record from the boot making 1/1 conversions and 1/1 penalties in their 96-17 defeat.

If Italy are to stand any chance of winning this game and advancing to the quarter-finals then Allan will need to be at his best.

Great cover defence from Tommaso Allan and Michele Lamaro!#RWC2023 | #ITAvURU | @Federugby pic.twitter.com/34fXIMadKh

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 20, 2023

France v Italy Rugby Results

France and Italy have played each other in a total of 47 rugby union test matches.

The record in those 47 games is as follows: France 44 wins, Italy 3 wins.

France are currently on a thirteen-match winning streak in this fixture dating back to their 30-10 victory over Italy in the 2014 Six Nations Championship. They need five more wins against Italy to equal their longest winning streak of 18 which occurred from 17 Oct 1937–22 March 1997.

Italy’s last victory over France came in a 23-18 victory in the Stadio Olimpico during the 2013 Six Nations which was coincidentally their second victory in their last three matches over them at the time.

France v Italy Prediction & Best Bet

Prediction: France 42-6 Italy

France should be far too good for this Italy team. Following New Zealand’s thrashing of the Italians last weekend France will want to lay down a marker again and keep momentum going heading into the knockout rounds.

Italy will feel they have nothing to lose going into this game with nobody expecting them to win. If they could pull off a shock in this one it would certainly go down as their greatest rugby result ever. File it under the category of very unlikely though,

Best Bet: France To Win Both Halves By 14 Points Or More @ 5/2

If you enjoyed this preview then you’ll probably want to check out our New Zealand v Uruguay preview for the other game in Pool A this Thursday.

Click Below For Our LIVE France v Italy Odds

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