How to watch Italy vs France Six Nations: date, TV channel and live stream information for 2023 rugby fixture

The 2023 Six Nations Championship kicks off this weekend with three thrilling fixtures for rugby fans to look forward to.

It all starts on Saturday with a mouthwatering clash between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff, followed by the Calcutta Cup contest between England and Scotand at Twickenham. The opening round of matches comes to a close on Sunday as reigning Grand Slam champions France begin their title defence against Italy, who enter the tournament with renewed confidence after breaking their losing record last year. Here is everything you need to know about when and where the match is being played and how to watch on UK TV:

Italy vs France - date and venue for Six Nations fixture

Italy vs France will be the third and final match of the opening round of fixtures from the 2023 Six Nations and will be played on Sunday, February 5 with a 3pm (GMT) kick off . The match will be played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, the home venue of the Italian national rugby team since 2012 which also serves as the home ground for football sides AS Roma and SS Lazio as well as select matches for the Italian national football side.

What channel is Italy vs France Six Nations on in the UK?

The 2023 Six Nations match between Italy and France will be shown live on ITV and STV. The tournament will be broadcast across both the BBC and STV with certain matches, including Wales vs Ireland on Saturday, being shown on BBC One. The programme is due to begin at 2:15pm with Jill Douglas presenting the coverage.

Italy vs France Six Nations match live stream

The match can be live streamed via ITVX or the STV Player (in Scotland). This can be accessed by visiting the website on a browser or by downloading the app (available in most mainstream app stores) on mobile devices and tablets.

Italy vs France head-to-head record

France have dominated this fixture historically and have won 43 of the 46 meetings of the two while Italy have won the other three and there have been no draws. The first of Italy’s three victories came in the 1997 FIRA Trophy while their two Six Nations victories came in 2011 and 2013. All of Italy’s wins have been in home games and France were 37-10 winners in last year’s Six Nations clash in Paris.

The two teams compete each year for the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy which was designed by former French international and professional sculptor Jean-Pierre Rives and first awarded in 2007. It is named after the Italian revolutionary born in 1807 in Nice who served in the French Army.

Italy vs France Six Nations team news

Neither team has announced their starting XV for the match yet but both have confirmed their full squads for the tournament. Here are the full squad lists for both sides:

Italy

Forwards: Pietro Ceccarelli (Brive), Simone Ferrari (Benetton Rugby), Danilo Fischetti (London Irish), Matteo Nocera (Zebre Parma), Marco Riccioni (Saracens Rugby), Luca Rizzoli (Zebre Parma), Mirco Spagnolo (Petrarca Rugby), Federico Zani (Benetton Rugby), Luca Bigi (Zebre Parma), Marco Manfredi (Zebre Parma), Giacomo Nicotera (Benetton Rugby), Niccolò Cannon (Benetton Rugby), Marco Fuser (Massy), Federico Ruzza (Benetton Rugby), Andrea Zambonin (Zebre Parma), Lorenzo Cannon (Benetton Rugby), Michele Lamaro (Benetton Rugby), Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby), Giovanni Pettinelli (Benetton Rugby), Jake Polledri (Gloucester Rugby), Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby).

Backs: Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby), Stephen Varney (Gloucester Rugby), Alessandro Fusco (Zebre Parma), Tommaso Allan (Harlequins), Giacomo Da Re (Benetton Rugby), Juan Ignacio Brex (Benetton Rugby), Enrico Lucchin (Zebre Parma), Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby), Luca Morisi (London Irish), Pierre Bruno (Zebre Parma), Ange Capuozzo (Stade Toulousain), Matteo Minozzi (Benetton Rugby), Edoardo Padovani (Benetton Rugby).

France

Forwards: Cyril Baille (Toulouse), Dany Priso (Toulon), Reda Wardi (La Rochelle) ; Uini Atonio (La Rochelle), Sipili Falatea (Bordeaux-Bègles), Mohamed Haouas (Montpellier), Gaëtan Barlot (Castres), Teddy Baubigny (Toulon), Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Bastien Chalureau (Montpellier), Thibaud Flament (Toulouse), Romain Taofifenua (Lyon), Thomas Lavault (La Rochelle), Paul Willemse (Montpellier), Thomas Jolmès (Bordeaux-Bègles), Grégory Alldritt (La Rochelle), Alexandre Bécognée (Montpellier), Dylan Cretin (Lyon), François Cros (Toulouse), Anthony Jelonch (Toulouse), Sekou Macalou (Stade français), Charles Ollivon (Toulon), Yacouba Camara (Montpellier), Paul Boudehent (La Rochelle).

Backs: Antoine Dupont (Toulouse), Nolann Le Garrec (Racing 92), Léo Coly (Montpellier), Antoine Hastoy (La Rochelle), Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Bègles), Romain Ntamack (Toulouse), Julien Delbouis (Stade français), Gaël Fickou (Racing 92), Emilien Gailleton (Pau), Yoram Moefana (Bordeaux-Bègles), Pierre-Louis Barassi (Toulouse), Romain Buros (Bordeaux-Bègles), Melvyn Jaminet (Toulouse), Matthis Lebel (Toulouse), Damian Penaud (Clermont), Thomas Ramos (Toulouse), Ethan Dumortier (Lyon), Louis Bielle-Biarrey (Bordeaux-Bègles).