France looking for a more polished performance
Having disposed of Ireland who were missing six frontline players in a patchy performance last Saturday, they host Italy at the Stade de France.
France coach Bernard Laporte will be looking for his team to put on a more polished and consistent performance than in the 35-17 defeat of the Irish, which left veteran winger Christophe Dominici distinctly unimpressed, especially by his own display.
"We weren't very good at putting into practice what we had talked about beforehand," said the 31-year-old two-time World Cup veteran.
"I wasn't very good, either in defence or in attack and I was not happy at all. I will improve on Saturday."
Laporte has had to form yet another halfback partnership because fly-half Frederick Michalak dislocated his shoulder against Ireland. He has drafted in Julien Peyrelongue for his first cap alongside Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, who scored a try against Ireland.
Peyrelongue, 22, will not be there to kick at goal, though Laporte will be looking for him to produce a better display of positional kicking than Michalak gave last Saturday a second successive poor performance following his dreadful one against England in the World Cup semi-final.
Peyrelongue admitted he had tried to improve his goalkicking for his club Biarritz but had given up the ghost and handed those duties back to scrum-half and French number two Dimitri Yachvili.
"I can't take the pressure," he revealed.
The Italian backrow will be sure to turn the screw on the inexperienced halfback partnership Elissalde's five other caps were as replacement as they seek to keep the scoreline respectable following their 50-9 humbling by England in Rome.
However, injury has deprived them of influential scrum-half and captain Alessandro Troncon, utility player Mauro Bergamasco and fullback Andrea Masi.
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