Coach Philippe Saint-Andre refused to be drawn on France's chances of snatching the Six Nations title after a 29-0 win over Italy on Sunday boosted lagging confidence ahead of next week's finale against England.
France face England at Twickenham next Saturday looking to cause an upset, and hoping results elsewhere go their way, as they bid for a first title since 2010.
However France's rivals -- England, Ireland and Wales -- would beg to differ after a game that will likely go down as one of the worst in recent Six Nations history.
France travelled to the Italian capital looking to reclaim the Giuseppe Garibaldi Trophy having lost to the Azzurri on their two previous visits to Rome.
Yoann Maestri, in the 45th minute following a great attacking move by full back Scott Spedding, and Mathieu Bastareaud, at the death, ran in the only tries of the game as France ran out deserved winners.
It was far from beautiful rugby at a cold and rain-hit Stadio Olimpico, but the result left France third in the table, two points adrift of leaders England (6), Ireland (4) and Wales (4) ahead of next week's decisive fixtures.
France's defence, which has conceded only two tries in four games, remains their strong point. But on this performance, England's lively backs will fancy rewriting those statistics.
Saint-Andre admitted his side's performance was par from perfect.
But he insisted it had answered critics of a team that, with only a handful of games scheduled before this autumn's World Cup, has yet to fill fans with promise.
"Today I saw a real team out there, in terms of the effort put in, our ambition and our defence," said Saint-Andre.
- Knuckle down -
"You can't dismiss Italy, they're a great side, they showed that when they went and beat Scotland two weeks ago.
"Of course it wasn't perfect, but today we have to look on the positives. We tried to wear them down in the first half and in the second we showed a little more quality.
"We won, we scored two tries and we kicked not too shabbily. Now we have to knuckle down and get ready for England."
Question marks hung over France well before the tournament and doubts set in after the Scots gave Saint-Andre's men a scare in Paris before the hosts ran out 15-8 winners.
Successive defeats to Ireland in Dublin (18-11) and Wales in Paris (20-13) have done little to boost Saint-Andre's profile with observers giving Les Bleus little chance of shining at the World Cup.
Bastareaud echoed his coach's assessment of the game but said France would travel to Twickenham motivated by the prospect of causing a final day upset.
"It was the win that we needed... one that is reward for a team that hasn't always been given its just rewards," said Bastareaud.
"We're going to savour it and, like the good professionals we are, prepare for England despite having one day less of rest. It's the kind of match we like, in hostile territory."
For once in this tournament, the Stadio Olimpico was deadly silent for long spells as Italy, seemingly filled with confidence after a 22-19 win over Scotland two weeks ago, failed to deliver on the promise shown at Murrayfield.
Italy coach Jacques Brunel made a last-minute decision to replace injured fly-half Kelly Haimona with Tommaso Allan, but Allan was forced off injured before the quarter-hour after missing an early penalty attempt.
His replacement, Luciano Orquera, missed another opportunity to put points on the board for the hosts, who then went in for the half-time break 9-0 down after three France penalties.
Brunel said those early misses had been crucial, but admitted the Azzurri were a pale shadow of the side that stunned the Scots in Edinburgh.
"We missed early chances to score some points and then we went on to lose our efficiency in the lineouts and the mauls," said Brunel.
"The rain wasn't a problem, the French defence was - as well as ball-winning and the construction of our game. They were solid in defence, they've only conceded two tries during the tournament and they built their victory on those foundations."
Brunel has injury concerns hanging over No. 8 and captain Sergio Parisse, as well as Matias Aguero and fly-half Tommaso Allan.
Source: AFP