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Such was the farcical nature of Christophe Dominici's mistake 10 minutes after the break, that sports fans are sure to be seeing this moment over and over again in the 'What Happened Next?' feature of television sports quizzes the world over.
Having shown great speed to break the Italian defence, the diminutive Stade Franà§ais Paris winger went in under the posts unopposed only to lose control of the ball as he attempted to touch it down one-handed. In mitigation the match was over as a contest at that stage but it can't have taken away from the embarrassment the left-winger must have felt.
France stuttered throughout, failing to convert their monopoly on possession into try scoring opportunities as Biarrtz's Peyrelougue found if difficult to put his big centres into space. Italy, for their part, put in a brave performance but rarely offered anything in attack, meaning France's winning margin and not the result was the only thing in doubt.
Eleven of France's starting fifteen came from the three super powers of Toulouse, Stade Franà§ais Paris and Biarritz which must help the French coach in terms of organisation and preparation in the lead-up to international matches. Little wonder then that these three teams made it to the Heineken Cup quarter finals, scheduled for Easter weekend, 9/10/11 April. Italy, on the other hand, struggle to bridge the gap between club and international level - only nine of their first team were involved in top-flight European action this season - and must be left cursing their schedule once again having had to play the two best Northern Hemisphere sides in the space of six days.
