RWC: Australia - Italy (11-09-2011, 15:30)

[markshaw]

Men v Boys

 

[profitius]

What is the Aussie scrum like?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Better than it was, but Italy's will be better

 

[psychic duck]

has anybody else noticed Castrogiovanni has become really unfit lately, I saw him play in the warm up match against Scotland and he was rolling around out of breath with the physio after 60 minutes

I saw him do the same thing in the 6 Nations

I think Italy need a tighthead on the bench to replace him after 60 mins like Leicester do with Cole

 

[madflyhalf]

RWC Training for NH squad is different, the peak must come from now till october 2nd (and hopefully so on), not 2 weeks ago...
After the disappointing (for someone) win against Japan, I remember Zanni, Bergamasco, Sgarbi and Benvenuti saying that for the first 20 minutes their legs were fresh, but then became pieces of concrete. This is due to intense training of those weeks!

A lot of team were not phisical fit at that time, but they will be more ready now!

 

[calculon]

RWC Training for NH squad is different, the peak must come from now till october 2nd (and hopefully so on), not 2 weeks ago...
After the disappointing (for someone) win against Japan, I remember Zanni, Bergamasco, Sgarbi and Benvenuti saying that for the first 20 minutes their legs were fresh, but then became pieces of concrete. This is due to intense training of those weeks!

A lot of team were not phisical fit at that time, but they will be more ready now!

Exactly.

 

[InsaneAsylum]

our scrum will go well, we've come on in leaps and bounds since the dunning/baxter days

 

[Darwin]

our scrum will go well, we've come on in leaps and bounds since the dunning/baxter days

While I certainly agree the Aussie scrum has improved a lot (it would be difficult to have gotten worse!), I'm not yet convinced. They did well against Southern Hemisphere opposition (which they are very familiar with), but they are really unproven against Northern Hemisphere opposition, and importantly Northern Hemisphere refs, who can interpret the scrum differently. I'm not saying that they will struggle, just that they are yet to be proven (and the Italian scrum is usually very strong).

 

[TNT88]

They have been working on the scrum all week just to make sure (they can put up with Italy's tactics).

 

[yage]

I think it's going to be a lot closer than everyone thinks... let's not forget where under preparation got us against Manu Samona!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Surely that's a mistake they won't make twice though?

However, I agree - I don't think it'll be a walkover to Australia

 

[JW.]

They have been working on the scrum all week just to make sure (they can put up with Italy's tactics).[/QUOTE

You don't just create a solid pack in a week . They should win easily but it's going to be hard in the scrums.

 

[TNT88]

The scrum is fine. They are just fine-tuning it considering other teams are going to target us there in the group stage.

 

[JW.]

Italy have the strongest scrum in your group, maybe a little less than Ireland but not by far. You're scrum is far from fine.

 

[TNT88]

Alright then. We'll see on Saturday

 

[madflyhalf]

15 Masi
14 Benvenuti
13 Canale
12 Garcia
11 Bergamasco Mi.
10 Orquera
9 Semenzato
8 Parisse (c)
7 Barbieri
6 Zanni
5 Van Zyl
4 Del Fava
3 Castrogiovanni
2 Ghiraldini
1 Lo Cicero

16 D'Apice 17 Cittadini 18 Bortolami 19 Derbyshire 20 Gori 21 Bocchino 22 McLean

Pretty strong side... Best backrow possible, even though I'd have liked to see Derbyshire in the starting XV, IMO he suits Australia better than Zanni.
I'm scared about Garcia... Sgarbi is by far the best centre we have, and Mallett stills stick with Garcia, who's been terrible in defence against Scotland (and Mallett used to say he's (been) there due to his defence... :huh: ).
10-12 channel for us will be very important, and I think Australia has targeted it and there will be a lot of traffic there.


A good bet could be who, between McCabe and Garcia, will hit more defenders in the match... Two straight runners, they don't care about what's in front of them, they just drive on

It can be the new edition of "The Headclash" of 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRoI6hmqqTc

 

[alexrugby]

I think Australia wins with comfortable advantage in play and scores too

 

[madflyhalf]

If Aussie play like last TN match, even with wet weather, they can score 4 or 5 tries easy.

But if we (Italy) start to match up with aggression and phisycality, without errors in attack (few but good kicks, good handling) and our usual defence (like the one we showed against South Africa in 2009 and 2010) I think this match could be closer than expected!

BTW, from an Italian pov, I don't care about the result.
I just hope Italy can build up some good rugby, defending well and give the Wallabies some work to score; playing smart and effective game, creating some trust and a little more depth and experience between the players, for october 2nd showdown against Ireland.

I'm a fan of Aussie rugby, but my heart will still with Italy of course.

A 42 – 18 final result, with 4 or 5 tries from the Wallabies (2 in the 1st half and 2 or 3 in the 2nd and latter stage), a still open contest until the hour mark, and a couple of ours well managed, and I really would be happy and hopeful for the real test for us.

But if the weather forecast is true, it could produce other outcomes.

AUS 29 (4) – ITA 11 (1)

Beale, Genia, Ashley-Cooper, Horwill

Derbyshire for Italy, whom I played against in youth, and I thought he would have a bright future ahead of him.


Beware of Barbieri at openside, he reminds me the old Mauro Bergamasco, but for strange reason he hits with an energy by far more than 1/2m *v^2!

 

[psychic duck]

Should I back Italy +29 handicap?

32-14, 2010
34-12, 2009
31-8, 2009
30-20, 2008
25-18, 2006

recent results suggest Italy should be able to do that, and have lost by a margin fewer than 29 for the last five meetings, but I'm wary because of Italy's pathetic performance against New Zealand in the 2007 RWC where it felt as if they didn't try and were just waiting for their match against Scotland (which they lost), and they did the exact same thing in the 2003 RWC (waiting for their match against Wales)

but is this Italy side likely to have a different attitude tomorrow under Nick Mallett?

 

[Getofmeland]

So Predictions Please... Australia to get off to a start or Italy to continue with their growth in Rugby... Can they cause an upset???