France powered past Italy 33-8 at the Stade de France on 22 February 2026, securing a comfortable bonus-point victory that kept them perfect through three rounds and firmly in control of the Six Nations title race. The match kicked off at 15:10 CET in Paris, which was 14:10 GMT, 09:10 EST, and 06:10 PST. It was a clinical afternoon’s work from Fabien Galthie’s squad, who never allowed Italy to gain a foothold in the contest.

The Stade de France in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, was packed with over 80,000 spectators who were treated to a display of controlled aggression from the opening whistle. Antoine Dupont was at his imperious best, darting around the fringes of rucks and orchestrating the tempo with the precision that has made him the finest scrum-half of his generation. He scored one try himself, a trademark snipe from close range in the 34th minute, and created another for Damian Penaud with a perfectly weighted cross-kick that the Clermont wing plucked out of the Parisian sky. Romain Ntamack, restored to the starting XV at fly-half, contributed 13 points with the boot and looked increasingly sharp as the match progressed, his partnership with Dupont settling back into the rhythm that carried France to successive near-misses in recent tournaments.

Italy arrived in Paris with growing belief after competitive showings earlier in the campaign, but the gulf in quality at the set piece proved decisive. Ange Capuozzo, the electric full-back who has become the symbol of Italian rugby’s new ambitions, was starved of possession for long stretches and managed only one dangerous counter-attack in the first half before being swallowed by French defenders. Michele Lamaro led from the front as captain, putting in a huge tackle count, but even his tireless work could not stem the blue tide. Stephen Varney kept Italy ticking over at scrum-half with neat service, and Paolo Garbisi slotted a penalty, but their sole try came from a well-worked lineout drive in the 71st minute when the contest was already settled. The Italian scrum, which had shown improvement in recent years, was dismantled by the power of Uini Atonio and Jean-Baptiste Gros on either side of the French front row.

France’s victory confirmed their status as the team to beat heading into the second half of the championship. Three wins from three, with a points difference that dwarfed every other nation in the competition, suggested that this was the year Galthie’s side would finally convert their obvious talent into silverware. The depth of their squad is remarkable. Gregory Alldritt was immense at number eight, carrying for over 60 metres, while the second-row pairing of Cameron Woki and Thibaud Flament dominated the lineout with nine clean takes between them. For Italy, the challenge remains bridging the gap between encouraging moments and sustained competitiveness against the tournament’s elite. You can check the current time in Paris and the current time in Rome for future fixtures between these two nations.

The scoreline, while decisive, did not fully capture how thoroughly France controlled this match. They held 68 percent of territory in the first half and completed 94 percent of their tackles, a defensive effort that smothered Italian ambitions before they could build any momentum. With Ireland also winning in Round 3, the stage was set for a potential title decider between the championship’s two unbeaten sides in the rounds ahead.