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Italy return to Rome for Round 4 of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, where they will face England, a team who are also on five points, but who they have never beaten, either in the Six Nations or any other tournament.
Over the fallow week, Italy have been able rest their aching limbs and refocus after the 31-8 defeat to France in Lille wrapped up their efforts for the first block of the Championship that included a Round 1 win over Scotland in Rome, and a narrow defeat to Ireland in Dublin.
The Azzurri coach Gonzalo Quesada has been able to ponder his side for the match at the Stadio Olimpico, but will he stick or twist against an England team that goes into the encounter against a side who have made nine changes, but who lost heavily in their most recent fixtures to Scotland and Ireland.
Here’s ATR’s thoughts…
Replacing The X-Factor
How do you replace the irreplaceable? Quesada will have been pondering this since the medical bulletin on Ange Capuozzo revealed that the fullback’s shoulder injury would rule him out for the remainer of the Championship.
The Toulouse flyer provides an edge, and as well as his fast feet, fast legs and reasonable defence for someone of his stature, there is his quick brain that earned him a try against France after he was first to a ball that squirted out of a ruck.
The obvious move is to push Leonardo Marin back from centre to where he played in the opening round win over Scotland. He will fill the second playmaker role as would Tommaso Allan, who would also be the back up kicker to Paolo Garbisi. There is also Lorenzo Pani, who played well against Ireland and who would provide the biggest running threat.
Where To Attack
Italy have shown a propensity to focus on the left-footed Garbisi kicking from left to right, with Louis Lynagh his target. With Cadan Murley and Elliot Daly at fullback, there is no reason to expect this to change.
When Murley made his debut away to Ireland last year, he was targeted by the high ball and struggled terribly. This Saturday will be the first time he’s been seen in an England shirt since that chastening experience.
Likewise with Daly. He is an excellent all round player, but memories of his struggles under the high ball in the World Cup final against South Africa are one of the few caveats against him wearing the number 15 shirt. It is also his first match in over a month, so if there is any rustiness there, Garbisi needs to find out early on. It goes double if Marin or Allan play.
Brexxxxxxxxxx Is Back….
You can picture Quesada’s joy when he found out that Juan Ignacio Brex was back for the match, such is his importance. He leads the defence from the outside centre channel, adds a forceful presence in attack, and provides a kicking option when needed.
He also brings out the best in Tommaso Menoncello, who has struggled to be as effective at outside centre. While Leonardo Marin didn’t do anything wrong, their partnership needs more work and can be chalked down to one for the future.
Elsewhere in the backline Alessandro Garbisi replaces Alessandro Fusco as starting nine, with his quicker delivery trumping Fusco’s better all round game. Lorenzo Pani is the man selected as Ange Capuozzo’s replacement at fullback, with his counter-attacking style giving him the edge over Marin’s and Allan’s second playmaker style. It is a clear sign of how Italy intend to attack England.
Weight Of History
That Italy are still waiting for their first win over England, says how often the higher ranked team has got away with things, but still lessons can be learned from their closest encounters.
In 2024, Italy led 17-10 at halftime, but a quick Alex Mitchell try after halftime set England on the way to a comeback, and the Azzurri didn’t add to their score until the final play when Garbisi converted Monty Ioane’s late try.
Back in 2012, in Italy’s first match at Stadio Olimpico, they appeared in line for a breakthrough victory after tries in the snow from Giovanbattista Venditti and Tommaso Benvenuti. Then came Marco Bortolami’s attempt to play scrumhalf. The ex-Gloucester man was a fine second row, but no number nine. His pass was high, slow, and meant Charlie Hodgson has eons to get onto Andrea Masi and charge down his kick and gather for a try. Owen Farrell’s boot then did the rest in a 19-15 win.
In short, keep the scoreboard ticking over, and play your position. Oh, and keep 15 players on the pitch. Lynagh has been yellow carded twice. The first gave Ireland the edge early on, while the second opened the floodgates against France. Quesada has plenty to be confident about but should have marked his card by now. Anything else would be irresponsible towards the rest of his team.
