French on track as Azzurri outclassed

FRANCE defence coach Dave Ellis was delighted with his side’s six-try show against Italy as Les Bleus remained on course for the Grand Slam.

Even a late fightback in which the Azzurri plundered 14 points could not detract from Ellis’ satisfaction from a job well done as he savoured a 26-point victory.

“We were quite pleased with how we set up in the game but we sort of fell asleep a little bit in the last 10 minutes of the first half and it took us a while to wake up,” said Englishman Ellis, who is also defence coach at London Irish.