Vital that he gains the upper hand: Italy hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini
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Ireland travel to the Stadio Flaminio on Saturday for a Six Nations clash that will also act as a warm-up for their World Cup showdown in October.
For those eager to clear their schedule even now; Sunday, the 2nd is the day they meet for a game that could decide who follows Australia out of the Pool. But that is way into the future and by no means will this weekend be a sparring session before the big fight in New Zealand. Italy and Ireland mean business for different reasons.
General consensus then: Rome is a banana skin that should be comfortably avoided seeing as the Emerald Isle has never fallen to the Azzurri. However, you never know with Ireland and with a partisan crowd behind Italy there is always potential that something special can happen.
Add to that underdog backing the return of Sergio Parrise this Championship, who they missed throughout their Wooden Spoon effort of 2010, and it seems like a good chance for Italy to catch Ireland napping. His comeback would boost any nation and we expect him to shine from the off.
Let's just get one thing straight before the mailbox floods with wounded Irish followers, we are not backing Nick Mallett's charges to claim a huge upset. Form is not with them at all - Italy have won just two of their last 15 in the Six Nations and the last win was a 16-12 one over Scotland last February.
They do however go into this one with a win behind them after beating Fiji. Papering over the cracks? Maybe. The same issues remain for Mallett as Mirco Bergamasco's boot was the supplier of their 24 points while their extended hunt for a half-back combination goes on. See here for an in-depth look at Italy's problem at scrum-half... and fly-half.
Ireland should be top of the standings when they head home. They will also be happy that they face France and England on home soil, with the latter a possible Grand Slammer.
Onto the teams. Kidney's selection is one slightly injury-enforced due to being depleted at full-back. Luke Fitzgerald is called in and is one of eight from Leinster. Six more come from Munster while there is just one from Ulster. Many fans feel the net needs to be widened.
Yes he will be encouraged a great deal by the strong form of new Heineken Cup favourites, Leinster, with Jonathan Sexton developing game by game to another level that moves him a good arm's length away from nearest rival for the playmaking jersey, Ronan O'Gara. Another who deserves his start is Sean O'Brien, after some special showings on the flank and more recently at number eight in Jamie Heaslip's absence has seen him become a hot property.
One area that should also not be overlooked is prop where Mike Ross - would he have been picked if still at Harlequins? - is charged with getting them a solid platform. It won't be easy against such a nuggety Italian trio so expect Tom Court to emerge from the bench later on.
The hard yards will be crucial, as ever, at the Stadio Flaminio and there is no doubt that Ireland will expect the treatment. But if they can weather the storm then a repeat of the second-half of 2009 could be in the offing. Then it will be all about preparing for France.
Ones to watch:
For Italy: Leonardo Ghiraldini will be looking to gain the upper hand on Rory Best to upset the Ulsterman. He definitely has the capability of doing just that too as Best has been struggling with form with many in Ireland thinking that Sean Cronin deserved a run.
For Ireland: Joe Schmidt should no longer be concerned when Gordon D'Arcy or Brian O'Driscoll are in need of a rest. Young and busy Leinster back Fergus McFadden has been impressive in blue and rightly earns a start, albeit in an unfamiliar position of wing. He has played there before and I wouldn't bet against him crossing on Saturday.
Head-to-head: The battle at the base should be an interesting one as Stade Francais' Sergio Parrise and Leinster's Sean O'Brien meet at the Stadio Flaminio. The latter has arguably been the stand-out number eight of the Heineken Cup thus far and will enjoy his day against the former IRB World Player of the Year nominee. Expect surges from both.
Recent results:
2010: Ireland won 29-11 at Croke Park
2009: Ireland won 38-9 at Stadio Flaminio
2008: Ireland won 16-11 at Croke Park
2007: Ireland won 23-20 at Ravenhill
2007: Ireland won 51-24 at Stadio Flaminio
2006: Ireland won 26-16 at Lansdowne Road
2005: Ireland won 28-17 at Stadio Flaminio
2004: Ireland won 19-3 at Lansdowne Road
2003: Ireland won 61-6 at Thomond Park
2003: Ireland won 37-13 at Stadio Flaminio
Prediction: Expect it to be tight until half-time before the visitors' superior back-line clicks into gear. Ireland by about 14!
The teams:
Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Andrea Masi, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Kris Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (capt), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Carlo Del Fava, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Gonzalo Garcia.
Ireland: 15 Luke Fitzgerald, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Sean O'Brien, 7 David Wallace, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Paddy Wallace.
Date: Saturday, February 5
Kick-off: 15:30 (14:30 GMT)
Venue: Stadio Flaminio
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees: Jérôme Garces (France), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official: Geoff Warren (England)
By Adam Kyriacou
Comments
siezmic says...
@crunchfit. Boy...you must be feeling at least a little worried that the Irish are a lot more brittle than you expected prior to last weeks game. Whatever excuses you wish to play, the fact is Ireland never controlled the game against the ëasybeats" of 6 nations Rugby. In fact the scrum looked decidedly crappy.
Today against Scotland Ireland has a chance to redeem themselves and so to, does Scotland. It will be a very interesting game don't you think?
By the way, with reference to your comments regarding Ireland looking "great" against the ABs last year, take a look at these quotes from the other commentators to help you understand and grasp reality...
The visitors looked to pick up from where they left off after half-time and managed to do just that in the 45th minute when Kieran Read crossed over for his first try.
Graham Henry's men appeared to be running away with matters when Sam Whitelock crossed for the All Blacks' third try and an incredible one at that.
It was Ireland's final chance and in the end it was the All Blacks who enjoyed the last of the scoring opportunities with Read completing his brace after some superb quick hands from Mils Muliaina.
I guess Ireland must have been at their greatest during the half time break....
Posted 10:32 12th February 2011
crunchfit says...
I'm not offended, just think you have some odd opinions.
The match yesterday didn't prove much. Italy are typically strong on their first game and they were at home. Even at their strongest, they were unable to beat an Irish team 1) with a coach who is making terrible / overly conservative choices, both before the match (e.g. selecting certain Munster players over others) and during the match (e.g. taking Sexton off when Reddan is finally brought on) 2) who made a huge number of basic mistakes and threw away a few try scoring opportunities (e.g. d'Arcy) 3) with a ref supporting them as much as I have ever seen (decisions at the scrum, missing offenses, forward passes and knock ons throughout the match, where the vast majority of incorrect calls went for the Italians). I mean, Italy's first 6 points came from two penalty calls which the referee made which were simply wrong. Also, it was a very poor choice by the IRB to select Poite to referee a match where the scrum would be so integral. How can you expect a referee (who is poor at refereeing the scrum anyway), to make fair decisions when he wrote a letter of apology to Italy for refereeing the scrum last year? You can't and Poite favoured Italy in the scrums.
As for bringing in younger guys, they have. Unfortunately, they have a coach who only uses them when he has no other choice. From my reading of blogs and newspapers, Irish fans don't seem to happy with the way Kidney is running the team this year.
PS I don't think you really have legs to stand on telling the Irish how to play. Italy's play has never ever changed or even tried to change and the 6N games involving Italy are always the least enjoyable.
PPS, I'm a South African living in Ireland and while they didn't beat us last time (conditions were poor to be fair) they gave us some good runs in previous matches. They even beat us and drew with the Aussies.
Posted 14:54 06th February 2011
carpelone says...
@ all.
Don't understand why you felt offended by the things I wrote. The game yesterday proved that they are all right.
You Irish must come to terms that this squad of yours can labour some wins with opponents at similar level like Italy through its experience (somebody would call it cynical play), but has no chance with SH squads. Your trick box would not work with them, in particular with the Boks or All Blacks.
Bring in fresher guys, the young ones who played yesterday are not at test level (Cian Healy, do you know Castro?).
Posted 09:38 06th February 2011
carpelone says...
@ Sebbb.
How was your hat, then?
Posted 09:26 06th February 2011
siezmic says...
I love it when fans say that a team looked great...until the final quarter...lol. It's an 80 minute game - you need to win the whole of it - if you don't you are certainly not brilliant. At least we can agree on the French.
Cheers
Posted 14:31 05th February 2011
crunchfit says...
siezmic
You smoking the same stuff as Carpelone? Ireland looked great against the AB. They were creative and fast at the breakdown for the first 3 quarters, but unfortunately collapsed in the last.
And how do you consider Ireland wooden spooners? 2nd last year. Grand Slam the year before. Particularly considering how poor both England and Wales played yesterday and considering the uncertainty in the French team. And then there's Scotland and Italy... I couldn't say they will be the winners, but they are certainly in with a chance and certainly aren't the wooden spooners of the 6N.
Posted 14:00 05th February 2011
siezmic says...
Months out from the RWC2011...
The southern hemisphere teams certainly tested the 6 nations contestants last autumn and some were found wanting on both sides.
Ireland did look old, lame and lacking imagination against the All Blacks but then so did every body else with the exception of England. Italy actually played some reasonable Rugby - good enough to make their much fancied opponents work hard and even look vulnerable a few times. However they never looked like play creators or match winners themselves.
Ireland will grind out a win but it could easily be the battle of the wooden spooners. I am putting England (seem to be getting their mojo back) top of the 6, followed by Wales (almost but no quite), France (dark horse), then Scotland (they have been doing some good stuff recently), Ireland (lacking inspiration if Autumn form was any indication), and Italy last.
I rarely get these picks right but at least I have placed my stake in the sand!
Cheers
S
Posted 11:54 05th February 2011
crunchfit says...
Carpelone
It isn't the referee who will decide the match... besides, referees tend to favour the sides which actually play rugby. Now, Ireland may not be the best at playing nice, flowing rugby, particularly with Kidney at the helm, but Italy have never done anything but play forward orientated rugby. They can't. So I wouldn't expect Poite or any other referee to favour Italy.
Also, Poite's colleague, Berdos, had no problem giving Paul O' Connell a red card despite not seeing the incident clearly. Reputation is not an issue when it comes to cards.
I can't really be bothered to respond to the rest of the stuff you said because it's a load of rubbish to be honest.
Posted 19:28 04th February 2011
KubilaKhan says...
Carpelone, I wish I had some of what your smoking, wait on second thought maybe not because it obviously affects your brain. More yellow cards handed out to better players (BOD for instance) Why is that? Oh Brian O'Driscoll gets carded for being too brilliant and not giving the Italians a chance? The referee is not biased either man, he's a ref they make bad calls. And wooden spoon? Really? Ireland are up there with England to win the whole damned thing! And Munster had a bad match against Toulon last time out, but they have been brilliant before that, Magners league and all that. Leinster I'm not even going to mention (see Racing highlights) and Ulter have made the QF in the Heineken cup. Granted I think Cronin should be in over Best but eh, Kidney knows what he is doing.
Posted 18:49 04th February 2011
Mick says...
Carpelone, if the basis for your theory that Ireland will struggle is that one of Ireland's three HEC teams struggled in europe this year (Struggled in this case meaning missed out on qualification by a point), then what chance do Italy have with Aironi and Treviso having placed bottom their respective groups, and only one Italian player in total being involved in the quarter finals of this years heineken cup?
Posted 17:02 04th February 2011
Carpelone says...
I meant Munster, not Ulster. Hat off to them, they played well and in good spirits and got a deserved spot in the final eight..
Posted 15:25 04th February 2011
dazzer says...
Carpelone...are you smoking crack?
Talking rubbish about an "old side"
Firstly, the Ireland backline has got a back three of McFadden, Earls and Fitzgerald(with Bowe and Kearney to come back), Sexton at 10 and O'Leary at 9.
The pack has a 23 year old prop with a 28year old hooker(albeit Cronin[24] should be starting). Leamy is 28 and Sean O Brien is 23(Ferris will come back in and he is 25) Stop towing the line with this rubbish about an old team.
Brawling after each scrum???? good god
Smashed all around Europe?Really? Hammer toulon at home by 40points and lose with 2 bonus points away to London Irish and Ospreys and top of the Magners. Leinster have smashed everyone in the Heineken in a pool with 2nd in the premiership(saracens) and 2nd in Top 14(Racing) along with the best team in France(Clermont). Ulster qualify for the QF also.
As for you 'would like to see the ref giving out more yellow cards'? What, just give them out to someone because they are a good player?? Get a grip of yourself
2 years ago the game was won because of cheap yellow cards?? really? 5 tries to none. Masi should've been sent off and banned for 8 weeks for his shocking tackle on Kearney. Remember Ronan O Gara got binned in that game too in the first half. You haven't got a clue son
Posted 14:10 04th February 2011
Carpelone says...
I simply meant that the best days for most of the Irish players are gone and that Ulster were quite dominated in the HC. The old dirty trick to start brawling after each lost scrum is not paying off anymore. Ireland as a whole needs to be refreshed, being the oldest squad in business. In spite of the final result, two years ago was a tough game for Ireland, which was won due to some cheap yellow cards handed to Italians.
We want to see more yellow cards also to players with high reputation (BOD for instance). Romain Poite is not up to this task.
Posted 13:10 04th February 2011
froggy73 says...
Who cares about Munster ? This is 6N !
Posted 11:17 04th February 2011
usrugbyfan says...
"Munster having been bashed so comprehensively all over Europe", what do you mean! The beat Toulon by a bigger margin at home than they were beaten, and have given as good as they got to their other opponents. That said they are leading the magners league. The only way that Munster can be bashed like that is when comparing them to themselves in previous years. That statement is outrageous.
Posted 10:33 04th February 2011
Carpelone says...
This is a possible wooden spoon decider and I would not write off Italy so easily, especially after Munster having been bashed so comprehensively all over Europe.
This match would have deserved a different referee, not one inclined to lean on the expected favourites.
Posted 09:49 04th February 2011
mlbp says...
I would love to see Italy win... It's a pity they are lacking the necessary tactical nous.
Posted 09:19 04th February 2011