The China Mail - Dupont eyeing Six Nations showdown with Ireland after Italy rout

Star scrum-half Dupont was key as France secured their biggest-ever win in the tournament, dotting down twice and conducting a masterclass in ball-handling.

Les Bleus trail Ireland by three points in the Six Nations standings and their chances of being crowned champions hinge on their trip to Dublin next month.

Ireland have won all three of their matches and are gunning for a second Grand Slam in three years with the visit of France and a trip to Italy left in their campaign.

"We suspected from the outset that this would be the biggest match of the competition. Knowing the Irish, we had few doubts," Dupont told reporters.

"They are capable of racking up victories and we knew that that match would be extremely important.

"We now have two weeks to prepare and try to get the best possible result, which is obviously to bring home the victory."

France head coach Fabien Galthie was naturally enthused by his team's stunning display in the Italian capital which featured a brace of tries from both Dupont and Leo Barre, with seven other players crossing including Pierre-Louis Barassi who scored in the final minute of the match.

His team bounced back from their narrow and painful defeat to England at Twickenham a fortnight ago when they were dominant but failed to capitalise on their try-scoring opportunities.

"We've felt for a while that we're capable of reaching a really high level of quality," said Galthie.

"What I liked is that we were in sync, all together, we made decisions together and we executed together.

"We agreed on what we wanted to do together and what I like is that we have everything we need to perform well (...) we've felt for a while that we're capable of achieving great things."

Galthie also has confidence in France's chances for the rest of the tournament and is looking forward to doing battle with the Irish.

"We are fuelled by everything we go through, when we succeed and when we fail. In any case, we have a big challenge waiting for us in Dublin," he said.

It was back to the drawing board for Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada whose team were put firmly back in their place after recent progress in the Six Nations.

Sunday's thrashing was their second worst, with an 80-23 humbling against England in 2001 still their blackest day in the tournament, even though they conceded 10 tries that day.

But Quesada insisted that Italy are better than what they demonstrated at the Stadio Olimpico, where they held their own for the first half an hour before eventually crumbling in the face of a French onslaught.

"It's very difficult when France play like that, when they produce that kind of rugby, but I don't think that the score reflects the difference between our two teams," said Quesada.

"We defended well for twenty minutes, but when all you do is defend, it's difficult, especially when France plays like that and when Antoine Dupont is having that kind of day... The way they play is magnificent."

H.Ng--ThChM