Les Bleus and Azzurri eyeing success

Expectations for France are high after they too notched a 100 per cent record during the Autumn Nations Series and have finished as runners-up in the past two Championships.

Centre and vice-captain Gaël Fickou says his team are ready to front up against the Azzurri in Round 1.

He said: “We are all getting prepared, it will be a very aggressive game against Italy.”

For Italy, Kieran Crowley heads into his first Guinness Six Nations as head coach and captain Michele Lamaro claims a youthful squad are ready to impress.

“Having Kieran Crowley as head coach is still something new, so we still have to adapt,” said Lamaro. “A few new guys have to adapt to the whole system.

“We are a pretty young team, so we have to put our energy in. Most of us played in last year’s Championship, so we have a little more experience around that – we’ll have to put that experience in with the energy.

“France are really in form, so it will be really difficult but we have to bring our energy and our passion and face them with all we have.”