The opening weekend of the Six Nations pits the tournament favourites against a side accustomed to finishing with the wooden spoon.
On the face of it that should mean a routine win for France - but where Les Bleus are concerned, things are rarely straightforward.
“I feel there is a little desire for revenge from the players who played in that game in 2011. We will face 22 hungry Italians who have improved a lot”Philippe Saint-AndreFrance head coach
The events of 2011 reaffirmed France's image as rugby union's great enigma. A team that slumped to World Cup defeat against Tonga and laboured in beating Japan and Canada, then came within a whisker of winning the tournament with a stirring performance against New Zealand in the final.
New coach Philippe Saint-Andre will try to build on the promise of that display while stamping out the inconsistency that so often undermines France's unquestioned talent.
Italy were major beneficiaries of Les Bleus' unpredictability last season - registering a first Six Nations victory over their continental rivals.
They too find themselves under new stewardship, with former France forwards coach Jacques Brunel replacing Nick Mallet. He has vowed to wed a more expansive style to Italy's traditional strength in the pack.
As well as new men in charge there will be new playing talent on show. Centre Wesley Fofana makes an eagerly-anticipated debut for France, while Brunel has sprung a surprise with the uncapped Giovambattista Venditti preferred to Gonzalo Canale on the wing in a youthful-looking side.
Head-to-head
France have won 11 of their 12 previous Six Nations meetings with Italy.
Italy's only victory against France in the Six Nations was last March's 22-21 win at the Stadio Flaminio.
TEAM LINE-UPS
France : 15-Maxime Medard, 14-Vincent Clerc, 13-Aurelien Rougerie, 12-Wesley Fofana, 11-Julien Malzieu, 10-Francois Trinh-Duc, 9-Dmitiri Yachvili; 1-Vincent Debaty, 2-William Servat, 3-Nicolas Mas, 4-Pascal Pape, 5-Lionel Nallet, 6-Thierry Dusautoir (captain), 7-Julien Bonnaire, 8-Louis Picamoles.
Replacements:16-Dimitri Szarzweski, 17-Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18-Yoan Maestri, 19-Imanol Harinordoquy, 20- Morgan Parra, 21-Lionel Beauxis, 22-Maxime Mermoz.
Italy : 15-Andrea Masi, 14-Giovanbattista Venditti, 13-Tommaso Benvenuti, 12-Alberto Sgarbi, 11-Luke Mclean, 10-Kris Burton, 9-Edoardo Gori; 1-Andrew Lo Cicero, 2-Leonardo Ghiraldini, 3-Martin Castrogiovanni, 4-Cornelius Van Zyl, 5-Quintin Geldenhuys, 6-Alessandro Zanni, 7-Robert Barbieri, 8-Sergio Parisse.
Replacements: 16-Tommaso D'Apice, 17-Lorenzo Cittadini, 18-Marco Bortolami, 19-Simone Favaro, 20-Fabio Semenzato, 21-Tobias Botes, 22-Gonzalo Canale.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee : Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges : Andrew Small (England), John Lacey (Ireland)
TV : Graham Hughes (England)
