France's Rugby World Cup history suggests
they traditionally find solace in a modicum of discontent. They sweat the small stuff, so a parking ticket slapped on the team bus, wedding revellers disturbing the sleep patterns of some of the players and the fact that south Croydon just isn’t chic enough as a base might make them feel a little put upon.
In that mood they can be dangerous. No one mines the essence of adversity quite like the French. It solidifies that bond within the group. On previous evidence they are the one nation in the tournament capable of solving a game’s riddles without glancing up to the stand for guidance.
Their preparation has taken them from the Pyrenees and a gruelling pre-tournament fitness regimen overseen by the French special forces to a couple of collisions with England, in which they won the home match.
Not pretty
It wasn’t pretty at times and there have been many pining for the days when French back play drew admiring glances.
Wings Yoann Huget and Noa Nakaitaci are superb strike runners and given a little latitude they can be very destructive. However, it's difficult to escape the feeling that Wesley Fofana's absence will be keenly felt from a creative perspective.
France will look to Mathieu Bastareaud to bludgeon his way over the gain line; but what occasionally gets overlooked with his size is his ability to get his hands through the tackle and offload.
Coach Philippe Saint André has entrusted the running of the game to Freddie Michalak, a player who exemplifies the team: gifted but flawed.
France have picked a pack to combat Italy’s strength in the set-piece, though loosehead Eddie Ben Arous can occasionally fall foul of a referee for his angles at scrum time.
There is a temptation to view Italy's World Cup as a farewell tournament for some stalwarts. Italy's French-born coach Jacques Brunel steps down after the tournament, and it'll be a last hurrah for several players too.
Brunel has entrusted his team's present to the senior players he turned to in the past. The names remain familiar but lack the potency as players that they once enjoyed in their careers. Sergio Parisse is absent, injured, but his ability to influence games in the manner he achieved so brilliantly in his pomp, has been significantly reduced.
They still lack an outhalf to nudge his team into the right territory while also possessing the range of passing to make the backline more than bit part players.
Tenacity
Up front
Italy
will compete with their familiar tenacity and they have players in Josh Furno, Alessandro Zanni and the Fijian-born number eight Samuela Vunisa who can positively influence the game: the problem for the team is that there are not enough of them.
France should take the first step at Twickenham. It might not be aesthetically pleasing on the eye, but since when did the French care what other people thought.
