Maxime Lucu started the second of France’s Rugby World Cup pool matches against UruguayRugby World Cup Pool A: France v ItalyVenue: OL Stadium, Lyon Date: Friday, 6 October Kick-off: 20:00 BSTCoverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, plus text updates on the BBC Sport website and app.
Maxime Lucu has tried to “manage the expectation” as he deputises for France captain Antoine Dupont and wants to enjoy the big moment.
Hosts France will top their Rugby World Cup pool if they avoid defeat by Italy in their final group match on Friday.
Lucu will start at scrum-half in Lyon while Dupont continues his recovery from a fractured cheekbone.
“The French team is a group of 33 players, and everyone has an important role,” said 30-year-old Lucu.
“If we’re here, it’s because we have a role to play. For me, it’s this weekend.
“The pressure has been on for two weeks now, after Antoine’s injury. A captain getting injured is a major factor at a World Cup. I’ve had a lot of messages, but I’ve turned my phone off and concentrated on the past two weeks.”
Lucu added: “My game is different to Antoine’s so there’s no comparison. I’ve been trying to do that for the past 10 days, to manage the expectation, the pressure and the role I have to play. But above all, I want to enjoy the moment.
“When you’re a substitute for Antoine, the captain and number nine, you’re prepared for [having little playing time]. These are things we work on.
“At international level, the nine and 10 have an important role to play in getting the team going and applying the strategy. The game managers have to be good, and on Friday I have to be good in those areas.”
Dupont, widely considered as one of the world’s best players, was injured in France’s pool game against Namibia on 21 September.
He had an operation the following day and will meet a surgeon on Monday to determine whether he will be passed fit to participate in France’s quarter-final should they qualify.
Italy fire ceremony ‘a good way of moving on’
Pool A standings correct prior to New Zealand v Uruguay
Italy have appeared at all 10 Rugby World Cups but have never previously qualified for the knockout phase.
New Zealand confirmed a quarter-final spot with a bonus-point win over Uruguay on Thursday evening, meaning only victory against France will do for the Italians. Even then, with bonus points involved, there is a scenario in which a win would not be enough for them to go through.
The All Blacks thrashed Italy 96-17 in their most recent pool fixture on 29 September, and coach Kieran Crowley’s side have been trying their best to move on quickly from that huge defeat before their deciding game against the World Cup hosts.
Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney said: “We were quite devastated by our performance. Going into the week, Kieran brought us in and we needed to get our confidence back so we did this thing where we chucked our thoughts into the fire and tried to forget about it and take our learnings into this week.
“Basically, we just wrote our thoughts on a piece of paper and just chucked it into the fire. I think it was a good way of forgetting about it and moving on. Because I don’t think that performance defined us as a team.
“We got our confidence back from training now and hopefully we can put a good performance in on Friday.”
Line-ups
France: Ramos; Penaud, Fickou, Danty, Bielle-Biarrey; Jalibert, Lucu; Baille, Mauvaka, Atonio, Woki, Flament, Jelonch, Ollivon (capt), Alldritt.
Replacements: Bourgarit, Wardi, Aldegheri, Taofifenua, Cros, Couilloud, Moefana, Jaminet.
Italy: Capuozzo; Bruno, Brex, Garbisi, Ioane; Allan, Varney; Ferrari, Faiva, Ceccarelli, N Cannone, Ruzza, Negri, Lamaro (capt), L Cannone.
Replacements: Manfredi, Zani, Riccioni, Sisi, Zuliani, Fusco, Morisi, Pani.