A late long-range penalty from Jules Plisson salvaged a scarcely deserved 23-21 victory for France against Italy in the opening match of Six Nations tournament on Saturday at the Stade de France.
Underdogs Italy dominated the early exchanges and deservedly went ahead on eight minutes through a Carlo Canna drop goal, but France responded six minutes later when Virimi Vakatawa stepped inside the final tackler to touch down in the corner.
Captain Sergio Parisse got Italy's first try of the game on 25 minutes off a lineout maul, but another try by France flanker Damien Chouly brought the home side to a 10-8 lead.
Canna moved Italy back in front with a penalty two minutes after the restart and the stand-off converted his own try on 45 minutes to move the Azzurri into a surprise 18-10 lead.
France responded again through Bonneval, who scored in the corner after 58 minutes with Plisson adding the extras.
Plisson moved France ahead with a penalty before Kelly Haimona edged Italy back in front with a penalty of his own with just eight minutes remaining.
However, Italy were denied a first ever victory at the Stade de France when Plisson landed a monster penalty with five minutes remaining to seal the hard-fought 23-21 win.
Later on Saturday, Scotland play England at Murrayfield while the first round of matches in the Six Nations concludes Sunday when defending champions Ireland take on Wales in Dublin.
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