The strangest of times these may be, the most soulless of echoey Six Nations, but some things remain constant. This France team’s excellence may not be eternal, but we are coming to rely on it. Italy’s status as whipping boys, though, shows no sign of lifting. The hosts played plenty of rugby, forcing France into roughly twice the number of tackles – and yet they were thrashed. Again. Take your pick of the princely Frenchmen, but, if brilliance can ever be reliable, Antoine Dupont is starting to rival the sun in that department. He had hands and feet in all too many of France’s tries, of which there were seven in the end. It was another masterclass in how to make energy and imagination tell. Italy are in need of such an exhibition. As ever, they brought plenty to the party, inspired by their unusually youthful selections; as ever, the bite was lacking. They are quick and ambitious, befitting their age, but a heavy-duty cutting edge remains a weapon beyond them. The first five minutes were illustrative. Italy came at France from a variety of angles, Ignacio Brex cutting them open superbly, but the French were able to regroup and win the penalty. Seconds later, Teddy Thomas, a cutting edge if ever there were one, was slashing this way and that down the right, then Gabin Villière down the left, before Dylan Cretin took the direct route to the line from Dupont’s pass. That is how you do it, Italy. Unperturbed, the Italians kept up their pace. Their young half-backs are genuine prospects. Paolo Garbisi looked very sharp at fly-half. Stephen Varney, his partner at scrum-half, thought he had put Monty Ioane away after an outrageous double-dummy break, the second dummy bought by Dupont, no less. Alas, Varney’s pass was deemed forward. But by then France had scored two more tries, pouncing with menace whenever they were given the chance between Italy’s flamboyant gesticulations. Dupont’s chip for Gaël Fickou’s try, France’s second just before the half-hour mark, was simple and deadly in equal measure. Meanwhile, his contribution to France’s third, bang on that half-hour mark, was another level up again. None of a phalanx of Italian forwards chose to catch the latest pass from Varney, but Dupont was on to the loose ball with a fly-hack. Villière secured it to find Dupont in support. When he was hauled down, his over-the-shoulder pass to Arthur Vincent was outrageous and deadly in equal measure. France’s bonus point duly followed a few minutes into the second half, Brice Dulin combining in counterattack with Villière with unseemly ease to finish. Two more tries followed before the hour was out. Dupont scored the first, on hand to take Thomas’s inside ball after the latter broke outside Brex from a lineout. Four minutes later, and Dupont returned the favour, playing linkman after Matthieu Jalibert’s break to send Thomas away. Italy were in pieces now, young men pondering the realities of international rugby – 45-3 down, yet probably feeling as if they had played all right. They did more than that a few minutes into the final quarter for their try. Luca Sperandio was released down the right by some sweet handling. His chip and gather on the full over the head of Louis Carbonel was as classy as anything on show. Of course, it mattered naught. Brilliance is easy in bursts. Thomas finished the rout with five minutes to go, set away for his second by the flashing hands of Dulin. The brilliance of this French team comes at you in waves and from every conceivable angle. They, too, need to produce it when it really, really matters, but for now an empty stadium in Rome is little more than a gallery for them.