France battled back to get their World Rugby Classic title defence off to the perfect start with a hard-fought 28-6 victory over Italy at North Field, National Sports Centre, on Saturday night.

After finding themselves 6-0 down to two Ramiro Pez penalties, the defending champions finally sprang into life, scoring a late try at the end of the first half to hold a slender 7-6 lead at the interval, before running in three more converted tries after the break to wrap up victory.

Coach Damien Chouly admitted his relief after conceding his players were far too tentative in the early stages before finally finding form.

“It was a very bad start to be honest,” he said. “We spent the majority of the first half having to defend a lot but thankfully after that first try we started to play a lot better.

“We have a lot of new players and I don’t think they really knew what to expect from the opposition.

“They are a good side and at the beginning they really tested us and I think a lot of my players were more worried about what Italy were doing than their own game.

“Once we started running the ball, that was it, it made a big difference in the second half and we were able to get the win.”

Italy came flying out of the blocks and immediately put France under pressure deep in their own half. Despite a ten minute period of dominance, France somehow managed to hold firm and repel the wave of attacks.

However, Italy were finally rewarded for the perseverance in the 18th minute as Pez confidently slotted a 30-yard penalty between the posts to break the deadlock and give his side a 3-0 lead.

Building on that momentum, Italy continued to dominate and were awarded another penalty two minutes later after forcing a turnover in the far right corner. Pez once again capitalised to extend the advantage to 6-0.

France finally started to enjoy some possession late into the first half and managed to score the first try of the evening.

With the pressure building on the Italian defensive line, Romain Granal broke through to crash over in the far right corner. Mathieu Amoros added the extras to send his side in 7-6 ahead at the break.

The second half proved a far more one-sided affair as France dictated play throughout. Following a prolonged period of pressure after the restart, Leandre Billaud bundled over under the posts in the 38th minute. Julian Baron converted the extras to extend the lead to 14-6.

With momentum firmly behind them, France ran a third try ten minutes later to seal a bonus point. This time it was Renaud Droitecourt who scored, with Anthony Lagardere slotting the conversion through the posts to give his side a 21-6 advantage.

With eight minutes remaining, France added a final try as Benjamin Rioux finished off a flowing move. Lagardere was again on hand to add the extras and wrap up the 28-6 success.

• In the second match of the opening night, Argentina Legends, who won the Rugby Classic three times in a row between 2017 and 2019, sent out an ominous warning to their rivals with an emphatic 57-0 victory over the USA Classic Eagles.

Argentina’s intent was clear from the outset, finding themselves 26-0 ahead in the first 15 minutes with tries from Lucas Borges, Nicolas Bruzzone, Juan Cruz Gonzalez and Manuel Carizza. Gonzalez also successfully converted three of the tries.

A fifth try was added before the break as Federico Amelong broke through the USA defence with ease before going over in the right corner. Gonzalez again added the extras to send his side in with a comfortable 33-0 advantage at half time.

Refusing to rest on their laurels, Argentina picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, with Bruzzone adding his second try in the 40th minute. Alberto di Bernado failed to add the conversion as the score stood at 38-0.

Midway through the half the advantage was extended to 43-0 with Mauro Comuzzi adding another unconverted try, before with four minutes remaining Javier Agnacio Alianelli finished off another flowing move. This time Bernado successfully added the extras, taking the score to 50-0.

With seconds remaining, Amelong added further salt to the wounds, scoring his second try of the night, again converted by Bernado, wrapping up victory as Argentina marked their return to the Classic in scintillating style.