Italy flyhalf and centres - solve the puzzle

[Melhor Time]

Italy have got some good options at scrumhalf and fullback and good enough wingers to compete. The frontrow and backrow are solid with a good enough secondrow to compete well too. There is one thing preventing Italy from kicking on - decent players at 10, 12 and 13. On attack and defense this is what harms Italy greatly. Neither Gonzalo Garcia nor Alberto Sgarbi should play for Italy again. Kris Burton shouldn´t play again either while Craig Gower, of course won´t. Garcia was poor in the World Cup. On defense he was responsible for Ireland turning the game and getting such a comfortable win. He´s got to go. Sgarbi is, at best, a reserve but at best. Mirco Bergamasco is a winger and should not be used again as a centre unless it is injury enforced during a match.

What I would like to see happen for the Six Nations is:

1. Gonzalo Canale move in one to inside centre - where Clermont have mainly used him since Rougerie moved from 14 to 13.

2. Italy´s best 10 if Luciano Orquera. Hopefully someone else comes along before RWC 2015. Until then Orquera is the best player avaliable.

3. Tommaso Benvenuti can play both 14 and 13. Make him Italy´s 13. He´s got real potential and can be better used at 13 than 14.



9 Fabio Semenzato
10 Luciano Orquera
11 Mirco Bergamasco
12 Gonzalo Canale
13 Tommaso Benvenuti
14 Giulio Toniolatti
15 Andrea Masi

19 Paul Derbyshire
20 Edoardo Gori
21 Riccardo Bocchino
22 Luke McLean

 

[Me 1]

9 Semenzato- Agree
10 Orquera- Don't like him but who else? Burton? I don't mind him but is quite old. Tebaldi? He can kick but and has played there before but I have no idea how good he is there, would that be another Mauro Bergamasco moment
11 Bergamasco- Agree
12 Canale- Agree
13 Benvenuti- Agree
14 Toniolatti- What about McLean? Bad defence but is a good attcker. Maybe Nitoglia, haven't seen much of him though.
15 Masi- Agree

 

[Melhor Time]

9 Semenzato- Agree
10 Orquera- Don't like him but who else? Burton? I don't mind him but is quite old. Tebaldi? He can kick but and has played there before but I have no idea how good he is there, would that be another Mauro Bergamasco moment
11 Bergamasco- Agree
12 Canale- Agree
13 Benvenuti- Agree
14 Toniolatti- What about McLean? Bad defence but is a good attcker. Maybe Nitoglia, haven't seen much of him though.
15 Masi- Agree

I think McLean is a good fullback and ok winger. For me, Masi is a better fullback and Toniolatti and Nitoglia are better wingers.

While, for me, Tebaldi, would be only used at scrumhalf and certinaly not for a Six Nations match. I´d take him on Italy´s June 2012 tour of Argentina, the USA and Canada and give him game time vs both North Americans. Once off the bench and once in the starting XV.

Italy's fly halves are just ... dreadful

there are loads of matches over the past 5 years that if Diego Dominguez was playing Italy would have won, if he and Troncon played behind this current pack I belive they would be consistently a mid table 6 Nations side

Orquera would be lucky to be considered a ProD2 or Championship fly half, he is awful, probably the worst tackler in professional rugby

Bocchino is similarly bad, hardly played for Aironi last season but was selected for the RWC and I could see why Aironi didn't play him, he's pants, bad goal kicker, can't tackle, can't pass (the one thing Orquera can do decently), I don't see what he actually does

I would go with Burton, he is the least awful option and could take over kicks from Bergamasco who is not a kicker of international standard, don't know why you think he shouldn't play again when you've got Orquera and Bocchino as fly halves

another Italian fly half is Alberto di Bernardo, is he good?

could Botes qualify for Italy?

If Orquera is Pro d2 quality then Burton is Fédérale 1. Orquera would start for Agen and Lyon plues Castres and his ex-club, Brive but the latter two are because of injury. di Bernardo is no good. Both he, Orquera and Garcia only play for Italy because they had no chance of making Los Pumas.

Orquera, for me, is still the guy and yes this is a major concern! But its like Dan Parks or Quade Cooper. Orquera needs a good backrower to tackle so that he can only make 3 per game and not more. Just like Josh Kronfeld used to protect Andrew Mehrtens. Orquera had two great attruibutes - his pass and his analysis. The guy knows when to go left or right and moves a lot about the field to constantly change direction. If he did have a good open side flanker like Dusautoir, Warburton, Wood, McCaw or Clever then his shortcomings would be largely unknown.

Tobias Botes never played XV or Sevens for South Africa so he could, indeed, play for Italy. He´s a scrumhalf though and Italy have loads of them. I don´t like him but Willem de Waal will be able to play for Italy in 2013. What worries me is that none of Benetton Treviso´s three flyhalves are Italian. They are all imports who have been nationalized or soon will be. Two of Aironi´s three flyhalves are imports too. The best Italian 10 playing for either side is actually Riccardo Bocchino followed by Andrea Masi. If nobody does come along then its going to, sadly, be Orquera, Bocchino and McLean for England 2015.

 

[Gavin]

I'm still waiting for the return of Andrea Marcato. It was due to injury, in my opinion, that he did not cement himself as Italy's No.10

One the point of Bergamasco's kicking, I would keep him taking the kicks. Just realised Riccardo Bocchino is only 23; Italy need to nurture this guy, perhaps bring Diego Dominguez to the coaching set-up

 

[jordiev]

shame de waal isnt younger he woulda been good

 

[Thingimubob]

Havent seen Marcato since he scored that winning drop goal against Scotland a few years ago really rated him, pity he got injured and dropped off the radar. Big fan of Benvenuti too, definitely would be interesting to see what he could do at 13.
Not a fan of Orquera at all, thought he was godawful against Australia, couldn't tackle, tactical kicking was all over the place (Semenzato had to do most of it in the end) and he didnt exactly display much promise in his decision making.

 

[welshglory]

Yea its a shame about Marcato i really thought he could be Italy's long term option. I believe he's playing for Calvasiano in the Italian leagues now after being dropped by Treviso at the end of last year. I heard from an Italian friend of mine that the Bergamasco game pretty much ruined his career and also that he was considered too small... which is pretty strange when you consider that Orquera is now the Italian 10 at 5'7. Injury was probably the main thing.

 

[Melhor Time]

One of the better performers this season in the Italian Championship has been Argentine player Joaquin Todeschini and yes he is the younger brother of Federico Todeschini, who was probably the best goalkicker on the planet in 2005-2006. He qualifies for Italy and could well be picked, if he is open to playing for Italy that is. He´s a flyhalf but will never be a Puma.

 

[psychic duck]

I've also heard that centre/fly half Juan Pablo Socino who was previously an Argentine U20 international, and has been in the RFU Championship Dream Team for the past two seasons, is Italian qualified and being looked at by Italy

http://rugby1823.blogosfere.it/2012/02/pro-12-treviso-guarda-anche-a-socino.html

 

[Melhor Time]

Thanks for the link... I surprized myself and understood it all. I won´t be spending money on Italian classes!

I just remembered that Joaquin Todeschini played Sevens for Argentina so Italy can´t use him.

 

[Draggs]

How about McLean to 12?
I think he is a decent player, big lad and a decent boot. Could benefit from having him crashing in at 12 or as a relief for the outside half, whomever it may be.

 

[Draggs]

Tackling can be fixed, but I suppose it explains his switch from 15 to 14.