Bad tee leaves sour taste in Italian mouths as Garbisi apologises

The ball, however, fell from the tee as Garbisi had 14 seconds left on the clock, leaving the rushed flyhalf with only four seconds to kick.

His attempt hit the post and Italy were denied just a second win on French soil after their 40-32 victory in 1997 in Grenoble as the teams eventually drew 13-13.

"This was part of my job and I didn't do it well, that's why I apologise to my teammates and the whole country of Italy," a dejected Garbisi said.

"A draw is a good result but winning would have been better, there was the space for it. It's on me. It's going to stay in my head for a while."

Italy are still without a win in the Six Nations since they beat Wales 22-21 in the last round of matches in 2022.

Resilience 

The days when France were going toe-to-toe with rugby giants New Zealand and South Africa seemed long gone on Sunday as Les Bleus only just avoided defeat.

France have been struggling to find their stride without mercurial scrumhalf Antoine Dupont, who has switched to Rugby Sevens temporarily with the Paris Olympics in mind, and picked up their second red card in the championship after Jonathan Danty was sent off for a head-on-head contact.

Fabien Galthie's side have only one win in three matches and despite their early domination against Italy in Lille, they have showed little inspiration less than six months after beating the All Blacks in the World Cup opener.

Their quarter-final exit against South Africa left them wounded and it seems the scars have not healed.

"It's a tough moment. We were very happy to win in Scotland but tonight is a draw that could have been a defeat," Galthie told a press conference after the 13-13 stalemate.

"We're not stunned, we're not angry though. The players did a good first half even though we only scored 10 points. Then it was details that went against us.

"After that when we were down to 14 men it was complicated against a team who knew there was more space and played well. We have to be fully aware of the situation we are in."

France next travel to Wales before hosting England.

"We cannot wait to be together again and we are determined to finish the championship well," Galthie said.

Captain Charles Ollivon noted that "in high level sport, everything goes fast.

"Nothing's broken but we know we need to be better when we dominate. We have to be better for everyone supporting us," he said.

"It's a moment when we have to show resilience, take the pain in," added Galthie.