ITALY COACH Jacques Brunel said today he would not be taking the “fighting” Irish lightly when the sides meet on Saturday in their final Six Nations clash at Rome’s Olympic Stadium.
Brunel was forced to make three changes from the side which recently gave England a scare at Twickenham last week.
Veteran prop Martin Castrogiovanni has been forced out with a thigh injury suffered in the 18-11 Twickenham reverse and is replaced by Leonardo Cittadini.
Simone Favaro comes in at openside flanker for Robert Barbieri while Andrea Lo Cicero replaces Alberto De Marchi at loosehead prop to claim his 103rd cap before, it is expected, announcing his international retirement.
Italy, who stunned France 23-18 in Rome on their opening Six Nations match this year, sit second from bottom of the table with two points, one more than Les Bleus.
After beginning the campaign with the aim of claiming two wins from the tournament, a win against injury-hit Ireland appears to be within Italy’s grasp, especially with the late withdrawal of fly-half Jonathan Sexton, who had been expected to be back in the side after injury. Brunel, however, made light of Ireland’s recent woes and believes the inclusion of Brian O’Driscoll, who suffered concussion in the 13-13 draw against France, could boost the visitors on what could be the Ireland captain’s swansong.
“We have the utmost respect for Ireland. People say they’ve been ageing for the past 10 years, but they’re always up there and can give any team a good game on their day,” Brunel said today.
“It will probably be O’Driscoll’s final match, so that will add an extra dimension to their game. But overall, Ireland is a team full of good, talented players.”
While Italy have endured another inconsistent campaign, following up on their 23-18 defeat of France with defeats to Scotland (34-10), Wales (26-9) and England (18-11), Ireland have not fared much better.
They beat Wales 30-22 in Cardiff but lost 12-6 to England in Dublin and were pipped 12-8 by Scotland at Murrayfield before drawing 13-13 with France last week.
Weakened
On paper, the Irish are there for the taking. But despite Italy starting to be shown more respect from their opponents, Brunel is taking nothing for granted.
“When you’re facing the English you know it’s going to be a tough, physical encounter. With the Irish, it’s all about their attitude,” said the Frenchman. “Their players have talent, but they also have a true fighting spirit. And I say that sincerely.
“It’s always a complicated match against the Irish. If you gain the upper hand, you have to kick them when they’re down because they’re capable of fighting their way back into any match.”
Italy (15-1): Andrea Masi; Giovanbattista Venditti, Gonzalo Canale, Gonzalo Garcia, Luke McLean; Luciano Orquera, Edoardo Gori; Sergio Parisse (capt), Simone Favaro, Alessandro Zanni; Joshua Furno, Quintin Geldenhuys; Leonardo Cittadini, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Andrea Lo Cicero
Replacements: Davide Giazzon, Michele Rizzo, Alberto De Marchi, Antonio Pavanello, Francesco Minto, Paul Derbyshire, Tobias Botes, Tommaso Benvenuti
