Italy v France, Six Nations 2023: What time is kick-off and what TV channel is it on?
Paolo Garbisi will miss at least the first three rounds as he continues to recover from a knee injury
France have been dealt a huge injury blow on the eve of the Six Nations with the news that La Rochelle centre Jonathan Danty will miss the tournament with a knee injury.
Danty has become a key cog in France's side in recent seasons and played in four of their five matches during their run to a Grand Slam in last year's Six Nations.
France head into the competition after a dazzling 2022 which saw them continue their unbeaten run of form. After winning the Six Nations and Grand Slam for the first time since 2010 last year, France look in imperious form to hold onto the title for another year.
Although Italy go into this one as clear underdogs, there were signs over the autumn that they are starting to put together a far more competitive side than we have seen in recent years.
Victory over Samoa was followed by an historic success over Australia in Florence and in young stars such as Ange Cappuozzo, Italy appear to have found some attacking flair to match their brawn.
When and where is Italy vs France?
Italy vs France will take place on Sunday, February 5, kicking off at Stadio Olimpico in Rome at 3pm UK time.
What TV channel is Italy vs France on?
Italy versus France will be broadcast on ITV.
What is the latest Italy news?
Despite heading into the competition in high spirits, having ended their 36-match losing streak in the Six Nations, Italy may face no tougher opponents than France, and even hosting the match on home soil is unlikely to shift the odds in their favour.
They also have injury concerns to deal with, not least the absence of fly-half Paolo Garbisi, who will miss at least the first three rounds of the Championship as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.
Garbisi played in each of Italy's Six Nations matches in 2022 but only featured just once in the autumn before picking his latest injury while playing for Montpellier against Bordeaux at the end of December.
What happened in this fixture in 2022?
These two teams met in the opening round of the competition last year, where France had to do without their head coach at Stade de France after Fabien Galthie tested positive for Covid 19, with Raphael Ibanez stepping into the breach in his absence. After a sticky start which saw Italy take the lead in the first half, the future champions wrestled back the victory to keep their opponents quiet in the second and see out a quotidian win.
Read Telegraph Sport's full coverage of the match here.
Italy vs France latest odds
- France 1/12
- Italy 10/1
Odds correct as of January 15