French break the mould with move to Marseilles

BRENDAN GALLAGHER

A new weekly look at the game’s other talking points

Formidable record: France beat the All Blacks at Stade Velodrone in 2000

BY my reckoning Friday night’s Six Nations game between France and Italy at Stade Velodrome in Marseille will be the first time a Championship fixture has been held outside of one of the ‘capital’ cities since 1954 which was the last time Belfast and Swansea appeared on the international fixture list.
Since then the provinces have been studiously ignored.
It’s a novel ...