Italy were unable to snatch a win after France were reduced to 14 men for the final 10 minutes and Damian Penaud's sucker punch sealed a 25-14 victory for Les Bleus at the Stadio Olimpico.

Penaud produced a tremendous tackle to deny Marco Zanon a debut try – with Camille Chat having been sent to the sin bin following repeated infringements – and the France wing rubbed salt in the wound by racing clear in the 79th minute to put the seal on the hosts' 22nd straight Six Nations defeat.

Antoine Dupont and Yoann Huget crossed either side of half-time to put France in control, but Tito Tebaldi set up a tense finale by closing the gap to six points in the 55th minute.

However, Penaud came to the fore in sensational fashion with his team at a numerical disadvantage, denying Italy even a losing bonus point when a rare victory had seemed within reach.