[2019 Six Nations] Scotland vs Italy (02/02/2019)

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Negri and Polledri chose to go there though, they weren't lumbered with it

Let's face it with the mighty Curry twins did he stand a chance with England? ..... /s

 

[Ainsthrilln]

For what I know, best prospect of current U20 selection are Koffi (who played as permit player for Zebre this year) and Mazza from Calvisano. I really heard good things about Fusco, the scrum half, but above all there's Moscardi who really seems to be the crack of the group.

Thank you very much Hap.

I watched Koffi last year (maybe at JRWC?) and he seems ok, but Italian back row is getting a little over crowded (Negri, Polledri, Steyn, Mbanda, Meyer, Licata...), so he will have to fight for a spot there.

I will pay attention to Fusco and Moscardi. Italy used to have depth at the scrum half (Gori, Semenzato, Tebaldi...), but not so much nowadays. It would be welcomed to have a young talent there.

About today's game, Italy was very poor, but the game could have been very different if the referee had showed a yellow card for the dangerous tackle to Parisse or the intentional avant at the first half. Italy didn't do much until the last ten minutes, but I haven't seen such a one-sided refereeing since the Belgium-Spain that ended with Spanish players runing after the referee.

On the bright side, Ruzza did great in two tries... It's not much, but still...

I do not understand COS decisions, I would love to see Morisi and Campagnaro playing together as centres, with Sarto and Padovani at the wings, but he prefers Castello.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Pretty much entirely in line with pre-match thoughts. A couple of late consolation tries when Scotland had switched off warps the score but spares no blushes. Not acceptable and poor use of the available resources. Sarto on and Campagnaro at 13 is a must going forward. I wouldn't mind trying Allan at 12 as Castello and Boni aren't good enough for this level and we have depth at 10. Questionable if Allan has the physicality for that, but beggars cant be choosers.

I don't think Scotland really got out of second gear so it is hard to evaluate them. Real defensive frailty but I'd be stupid to put all of that at the door of the absence of Dunbar.

 

[Every Time Ref]

Pretty much entirely in line with pre-match thoughts. A couple of late consolation tries when Scotland had switched off warps the score but spares no blushes. Not acceptable and poor use of the available resources. Sarto on and Campagnaro at 13 is a must going forward. I wouldn't mind trying Allan at 12 as Castello and Boni aren't good enough for this level and we have depth at 10. Questionable if Allan has the physicality for that, but beggars cant be choosers.

I don't think Scotland really got out of second gear so it is hard to evaluate them. Real defensive frailty but I'd be stupid to put all of that at the door of the absence of Dunbar.

Bruce, what is your opinion of Morisi? I don't study the Italian midfield options in detail I'm afraid! But I couldn't understand why O'Shea would not play Campagnaro at 13, what was the thinking, do you know? I wondered if Morisi might be a defensive rock, but from what I saw yesterday, no he definitely is not. So I'm at a loss

 

[Chetto4]

Hi everybody, I was a lurker for a little bit and I've finally decided to sign up, because I decided that the rugby world needs more italian supporters. I'm sure that when things are bad for your own team it's very conforting to see an italian rugby fan and realizing "Well, it could be worse. At least I'm not an italian supporter" lol.

Anyways, my two cents on Morisi: he's playing consistently well for Benetton at 12 and, since Campagnaro had a couple of bad defensive performances for Wasps, I think COS just wanted to have an in-form player on the pitch more than some mediocre fake winger like Benvenuti. Add to this that our winger situation is as bas as it can be (I mean, he played Esposito on the other wing...) and you have the answer, imho. Also, Morisi has decent hands and can be a little bit more of a playmaker compared to Campo and Castello,
Morisi was a very good prospect some years ago but had a couple of horrible injuries. It's great to see him back and playing regularly but now he's a different player from what he used to be.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Hi everybody, I was a lurker for a little bit and I've finally decided to sign up, because I decided that the rugby world needs more italian supporters. I'm sure that when things are bad for your own team it's very conforting to see an italian rugby fan and realizing "Well, it could be worse. At least I'm not an italian supporter" lol.

Anyways, my two cents on Morisi: he's playing consistently well for Benetton at 12 and, since Campagnaro had a couple of bad defensive performances for Wasps, I think COS just wanted to have an in-form player on the pitch more than some mediocre fake winger like Benvenuti. Add to this that our winger situation is as bas as it can be (I mean, he played Esposito on the other wing...) and you have the answer, imho. Also, Morisi has decent hands and can be a little bit more of a playmaker compared to Campo and Castello,
Morisi was a very good prospect some years ago but had a couple of horrible injuries. It's great to see him back and playing regularly but now he's a different player from what he used to be.

Welcome Chetto. I'm happy to defer to some real Italians perspectives on Morisi. I cant say I've seen a whole lot of him.

 

[Chetto4]

Thanks, I'll try to give some info about the italian teams, when needed. I can guess that UK&I media don't care at all about italian teams (and rightfully so) and it is pretty difficult for you guys to keep track of italian players and stuff. Hopefully there will be something worth talking about..

 

[Leinster Fan]

Thanks, I'll try to give some info about the italian teams, when needed. I can guess that UK&I media don't care at all about italian teams (and rightfully so) and it is pretty difficult for you guys to keep track of italian players and stuff. Hopefully there will be something worth talking about..

Welcome to the forum! Any thoughts on Ian Keatley signing for Benneton?

 

[Every Time Ref]

Hi everybody, I was a lurker for a little bit and I've finally decided to sign up, because I decided that the rugby world needs more italian supporters. I'm sure that when things are bad for your own team it's very conforting to see an italian rugby fan and realizing "Well, it could be worse. At least I'm not an italian supporter" lol.

Anyways, my two cents on Morisi: he's playing consistently well for Benetton at 12 and, since Campagnaro had a couple of bad defensive performances for Wasps, I think COS just wanted to have an in-form player on the pitch more than some mediocre fake winger like Benvenuti. Add to this that our winger situation is as bas as it can be (I mean, he played Esposito on the other wing...) and you have the answer, imho. Also, Morisi has decent hands and can be a little bit more of a playmaker compared to Campo and Castello,
Morisi was a very good prospect some years ago but had a couple of horrible injuries. It's great to see him back and playing regularly but now he's a different player from what he used to be.

Thanks for your reply! I didn't know he's been playing 12, that would explain the difficulty of switching to 13

 

[Chetto4]

Welcome to the forum! Any thoughts on Ian Keatley signing for Benneton?

It is definitely a very welcomed addiction, Benetton will have a lot of troubles at the start of next year because of the World Cup, cause it will leave them without a lot of players (21 Benetton players in the last National Team list) and very probably will create some injury problems as well. At fly-half they will almost surely be without both Allan and McKinley, leaving them with only the 20yo Antonio Rizzi (who's talented but is struggling a little bit in his first pro year and not having a lot of playing time) and Keatley, so adding him it's crucial. Hopefully he will show that he's still a good player and playing for London Irish for the remainder of the season will make him even more ready to give an important contribution to Benetton.

 

[Leinster Fan]

It is definitely a very welcomed addiction, Benetton will have a lot of troubles at the start of next year because of the World Cup, cause it will leave them without a lot of players (21 Benetton players in the last National Team list) and very probably will create some injury problems as well. At fly-half they will almost surely be without both Allan and McKinley, leaving them with only the 20yo Antonio Rizzi (who's talented but is struggling a little bit in his first pro year and not having a lot of playing time) and Keatley, so adding him it's crucial. Hopefully he will show that he's still a good player and playing for London Irish for the remainder of the season will make him even more ready to give an important contribution to Benetton.

Trust me, as a Leinster fan I know exactly what having your squad decimated for internationals feels like!

I think Keatley will be a great signing for Benneton. His experience at the highest level could be a big help. I think being away from the constant pressure at Munster will help him as well.

 

[Chetto4]

Trust me, as a Leinster fan I know exactly what having your squad decimated for internationals feels like!

I think Keatley will be a great signing for Benneton. His experience at the highest level could be a big help. I think being away from the constant pressure at Munster will help him as well.

Yeah, you Leinster fans sure know the feeling! The problem is that your 3rd string players are probably at the same level of Benetton's first string, if not better lol

I agree on Keatley and I hope we are both right. I think that if he will come and be totally invested in helping Benetton he will be great both on the pitch and off the pitch, helping some youngsters' development as well.

 

[Reiser99]

Interestingly Luke Pearce has apparently apologised to Stuart Hogg for disallowing his try.

https://twitter.com/theblitzdefence/status/1092488536887037953

Look at this video I think the decision was spot on. If you watch carefully the Scotland player (I think Price) who gets bundled over clearly looks behind him and changes direction. You could argue that the Italian player might not have reached Hogg anyway, but for me he is obstructed.

https://twitter.com/theblitzdefence/status/1091737138633285633

 

[Leinster Fan]

Interestingly Luke Pearce has apparently apologised to Stuart Hogg for disallowing his try.

https://twitter.com/theblitzdefence/status/1092488536887037953

Look at this video I think the decision was spot on. If you watch carefully the Scotland player (I think Price) who gets bundled over clearly looks behind him and changes direction. You could argue that the Italian player might not have reached Hogg anyway, but for me he is obstructed.

https://twitter.com/theblitzdefence/status/1091737138633285633

Funny how Pearce didn't apologise for the forward pass in the lead up to Scotland's second try...

 

[Reiser99]

Funny how Pearce didn't apologise for the forward pass in the lead up to Scotland's second try...

This is the problem, do you go and apologise for every mistake, or ones that lead to tries, therefore highlighting all your errors publicly? We all know refs make mistakes and from what I gather they are reviewed quite thoroughly after the game with some of the Refs performance pay based on how well they do. I reckon that's enough assuming it is done properly, though I doubt we will ever find that out. Publicly apologising is just going to lead to more problems.

 

[Leinster Fan]

This is the problem, do you go and apologise for every mistake, or ones that lead to tries, therefore highlighting all your errors publicly? We all know refs make mistakes and from what I gather they are reviewed quite thoroughly after the game with some of the Refs performance pay based on how well they do. I reckon that's enough assuming it is done properly, though I doubt we will ever find that out. Publicly apologising is just going to lead to more problems.

Agree completely, the worst thing is that he probably made the right decision on Hogg's try.