'Incredible' Louis Bielle-Biarrey breaks Six Nations try-scoring record in France's win over Italy
Published 22/02/2026 at 20:37 GMT
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France wing Louis Bielle-Biarrey made history as his side secured a third straight win in the Six Nations, sweeping Italy aside to extend their lead at the top of the table. Defence coach Shaun Edwards had special praise for the 22-year-old who scored a try in an eighth straight match in the competition, while lock Emmanuel Meafou claimed France already have one eye on the 2027 World Cup.
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Louis Bielle-Biarrey was labelled "incredible" by France defence coach Shaun Edwards after making Six Nations history in their 33-8 win over Italy on Sunday.
The Bordeaux Begles wing's latest try means he has scored in eight consecutive Six Nations matches, bettering Tommy Freeman's record.
And it took just three minutes for Bielle-Biarrey to notch his 24th France try in a dominant victory over Italy. Asked about the 22-year-old's record, Edwards told ITV: "He isn't a bad player is he? He is incredible."
Bielle-Biarrey's try sent France on their way but they were made to work for the win in Lille.
"That was a real tough game of rugby and, as they say, a real Test match," Edwards said. "The defence at the end was really good and aggressive, which is what we have been working on. It is good to know that what you work on in the week comes to fruition at the weekend.
"You have to dig deep at certain times. If you want to be champions of Europe you do have to dig deep."
France have now won three from three in the Six Nations and sit top of the table on 15 points, four clear of Scotland, with a massive points difference of 89.
"It was tough going, we managed to win the arm-wrestle and the team managed to find the energy to break through the Italians and take the bonus point at the end of the match," head coach Fabien Galthie told France Television.
While Bielle-Biarrey took many of the plaudits again, lock Emmanuel Meafou was named man of the match.
"I think it was a good team performance. I was blowing out there but we did it. I dug deep, I didn't think I had it in me but I am here and I am blessed and so grateful for this opportunity," Meafou told ITV.
"I think we always believed we would get the bonus point win. We knew Italy were a strong team, they hung in for 80 minutes, they never cracked and they never let go.
"I think the players speak for themselves, they are quality players and they work for their spot, it doesn't matter the name on the back, everyone does their job and we work.
"Our goal is to take the Six Nations game by game but the end goal is the 2027 World Cup so we keep working towards that."
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Italy remain fifth in the table with one win and two defeats from their three matches so far.
"The scoreboard is always the truth of the game and we have to go with that," said Italy captain Michele Lamaro. "France were unbelievably good at taking their opportunities, especially in the first half.
"We couldn't build pressure in the second half and that took us to 70 minutes when we got the yellow card.
"First half we made a couple of errors and second half we couldn't keep the ball. In line-outs we had a couple of opportunities.
"You are playing one of the best teams in the world, you have to be precise, you have to be concrete and you have to be playing at a high level. There were moments where we were there, but there was a lot of moments where we wen't able to perform and execute it enough."
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