France 60-7 Italy: Hosts qualify for knockouts as pool winners with dominant win without Antoine Dupont

France cruised into the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a hammering of Italy in front of a passionate home crowd in Lyon.

Any hopes Italy had of denying the host nation a place in the knockout stages were obliterated during a stunning start to the game that saw France run in three early tries.

The high tempo and sublime skills of the French proved too much for a sloppy Italian side who struggled to click even at set-pieces.

France needed no invitation to attack, but took full advantage of Italy’s generosity, with Damien Penaud scoring twice in the first half along with tries from Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Thomas Ramos, to secure a bonus point before the break.

And the tries kept on coming after the interval as France delivered a display that will raise home hopes that they can lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time.

The tournament hosts will now face one of South Africa, Ireland or Scotland in the quarter-finals in what promises to be a knockout game for the ages.

France started their campaign with victory over New Zealand and showed in this demolition of Italy that they are peaking at just the right time for the knockout stages.

Huge in the tight, aggressive at the breakdown and phenomenal with the ball in hand, France have a bit of everything and nobody will want to face them.

The home advantage will surely help France against whichever team they end up facing in the final eight and it’s going to take something special to stop them marching towards the final in Paris.

South Africa are the likeliest opponents next up for them in the quarters given how Pool B lies, although it could yet be Scotland or Ireland who await France.

A number of players could have won the Player of the Match award, but with 20 carries and 84 metres made, France’s number eight was at the heart of his team’s all-action effort.

The brilliant Penaud lit the night up with the ball in hand, but it was France’s aggression in defence and relentless power that was the standout feature of the evening, and nobody encapsulated that better than Alldritt.

France: Thomas Ramos 9; Damian Penaud 9, Gael Fickou 8, Jonathan Danty 9, Louis Bielle-Biarrey 8; Matthieu Jalibert 9, Maxime Lucu 8; Cyril Baille 8, Peato Mauvaka 9, Uini Atonio 8; Cameron Woki 9, Thibaud Flament 9; Anthony Jelonch 9, Charles Ollivon (captain) 8, Grégory Alldritt 9.

Replacements: Pierre Bourgarit 7, Reda Wardi 8, Dorian Aldegheri 7, Romain Taofifenua 7, François Cros 7, Baptiste Couilloud 7, Yoram Moefana 8, Melvyn Jaminet 7.

Italy: Ange Capuozzo 6; Pierre Bruno 5, Juan Ignacio Brex 4, Paolo Garbisi 5, Montanna Ioane 4; Tommaso Allan 5, Stephen Varney 5; Simone Ferrari 5, Hame Faiva 4, Pietro Ceccarelli 4; Niccolò Cannone 5, Federico Ruzza 5; Sebastian Negri 7, Michele Lamaro (captain) 4, Lorenzo Cannone 4.

Replacements: Marco Manfredi 6, Federico Zani 6, Marco Riccioni 5, David Sisi 6, Manuel Zuliani 5, Alessandro Fusco 5, Luca Morisi 5, Lorenzo Pani 5.

Wow. France are in the mood and then some. It’s a brilliant try, with Damien Penaud finishing in the corner after a string of dominant phases. Any one of three players could have scored that. Brilliant rugby!

Simply sublime. Penaud kicks again, but this time it’s the right option and brilliantly executed, finding Louis Bielle-Biarrey in space out on the wing. He jinks inside past two covering defenders and reaches out to touch down.

It is hard to oversell just how brilliant this is from France. Thomas Ramos crosses in the corner after a genius offload from Penaud. The pace of the play is breathtaking and Italy have no answer.

That’s the bonus point for France and it’s Penaud again, found by a wonderful cross-field kick from Jalibert.

A spell of French possession inside the Italian 22 reaps rewards as Jalibert finds a gap and darts through to touch down his team’s fifth try of the evening.

The momentum is unstoppable. France set up a maul from the lineout, Peato Mauvaka spins off the back, and the hooker powers through Allan’s lone attempt at a tackle on the line to score.

That’s the fifty up for France as they break the line on one side of the field, throw some big runners over the gain-line as they go through the phases, and create space for substitute Moefana to cross in the corner.

Pride for Italy and that is really quite something after what has been a tortuous evening for them. A string of phases creates holes in France’s defensive line, and the powerful Zuliani surges over the line to get some points on the board for his team and give them at least something to be proud of from this forgettable campaign.

Yet another try for France and it’s the powerful figure of Moefana who picks a shoulder and powers through it to score his second of the night after coming off the bench.

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