By PAUL REES

PREVIEW...
Italy v France
Today. Kick-off 3pm, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
THE last time France won back-to-back Six Nations titles was in 2007. Then, as now, they were preparing to host a World Cup later in the year but the occasion proved too much for them and they became the first hosts to lose three matches.
They started 16 years ago with a romp in Rome, but they lost there twice in the 2010s and, after Italy’s victory in Cardiff at the end of last year’s Six Nations and success against Australia in the autumn, the match between the champions and the wooden spoon hold...