 Chabal scored two of France's five tries |
France number eight Sebastien Chabal was delighted with Les Bleus' impressive 39-3 crushing of Italy in the Six Nations opener. "It is a really good start to the tournament for us," said man-of-the-match Chabal, who capped a fine display with two tries.
"We know it is never easy in Italy but I think we started well - we had a really good first half.
"We made a few mistakes but we stayed in the game and didn't concede a try."
Chabal added: "We knew the Italy forwards were quite strong so we had to work hard and we did that. That made it easier for our backs to go forward.
"I was a bit tired after 60 minutes but it is good to play games like that. I think it is my first good performance for the French team so I am quite happy."
 | SIX NATIONS BLOG BBC commentator Andrew Cotter |
France coach Bernard Laporte declared the victory a "mission accomplished".
"It's our best start to a tournament for eight years and we played with joy," he added.
France skipper Raphael Ibanez admitted the champions had been tense at the start.
"There were some nerves but we have started the competition well," said the hooker. "It showed that there is a good spirit in the team."
Italy coach Pierre Berbizier, a former French captain and coach, promised his team will learn from their mistakes.
"We were taught a good lesson," he said. "There wasn't a good balance between the forwards and backs and the French were able to match us on our strong points like the scrum."
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Highlights: Italy 3-39 France