Sergio Parisse exclusive: Italy need humility against France after All Black humiliation

Italy’s hopes of progressing past the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup are on the line on Friday evening when they tackle tournament hosts France.

With the all-Latin affair concluding France and Italy’s pool stages, all-time great Sergio Parisse joins James While to look forward to a better performance from the Azzurri.

Lack of humility

“Look, I am not going to dilute this; the Italy performance against New Zealand was embarrassing for our rugby,” Parisse exclusively told Planet Rugby.

“It wasn’t the loss; it was the how. I feel we got ahead of ourselves, talking about how close we could force a result on the All Blacks, a team we’ve never beaten in our entire history, and by speaking like that, we lost sight of the basics of delivery on the pitch.

“You cannot go into a game against a team like New Zealand projecting to the result and pool stage equation itself – you have to consider those first moments in the match, how you’re going to get into positions to get points, how you’re going to defend, your focus in your set-piece and so on.

“I would go as far as to say there was a lack of humility in the lead-up. How can we pretend and state there’s no pressure when it’s one of the biggest opportunities of players’ lives against such an iconic side?

“Once you start to believe that narrative as a player, you forget your basics – those building blocks of winning a match. This isn’t a case of being in awe of the All Blacks – it’s a matter of respecting your enemy, a simple premise of any battle, and I am not sure we did that.

“I feel we lost sight of the road we had to travel on, and we looked only at the destination itself, and against a world-class outfit like New Zealand, that is a recipe for disaster.

“I have been in these positions pre-match with Italy many, many times, and the message always has to be ‘get a foothold early in the game and build from there.’ You cannot short-circuit the process of rugby, and concentration is the key to that,” he explained.

“My question is, what have they done this week within the group to change this? What has been the focus and the message?”

Hot start

The likes of full-back Ange Capuozzo, playmaker Paolo Garbisi and prop Pietro Ceccarelli ply their club trade in France, while many have represented French sides in the past or clashed with them in Europe.

The familiarity between the two sets of players is something Parisse believes will add extra spice to the fixture.

“Our players know the French guys well and vice versa and, given the time we spend in club rugby together, there’s an added edge of wanting to get one over on friends and teammates,” Parisse said.

“We need to be wary of what they can do and show real character by getting out there and making the statement that the All Blacks result was an anomaly.

“That means we start hot, get those basics nailed down and compete hard in every single moment of the match.

“France have had 15 days off, and whilst they’ll feel refreshed, they have also had the distraction of the noise about Antoine Dupont.

“Within the camp, this is when the big leaders like Gael Fickou and Charles Ollivon need to take the pressure off Antoine, to become the focal voices of the team and to retain focus on their road ahead.

“Regarding Dupont, he is a loss to any side in the world, and it will be most interesting to see how France react to his absence from this game.

“Maxime Lucu has nowhere near the X-factor of Antoine, but he is solid in every aspect of half-back play and has added abrasion around the sides with a world-class kicking game. He’ll be starting with his Bordeaux club colleague Matthieu Jalibert, and we may see a conservative approach for the first quarter, and it’s key that the Azzurri back three deal with the Lucu and France kick game.

“Ange Capuozzo and Monty Ioane don’t have the kick length of the French backs, but they are able to run the ball back at serious pace to create problems.

“We know this will be the early pattern of the match, so supporting those isolated return runners must be an absolute focus of the Italian back-row and pack; get there, get over and secure.”

Managing change

Zoning in on France’s threats, particularly without Dupont, Parisse highlights the back-row battle as another key area that will play a significant role in the result.

“France’s backs will need to show their attacking skills without the lead of Dupont, and that will be interesting,” the Azzurri legend said.

“They don’t have him occupying people’s minds in defence, so finding holes will be a lot harder for them, but patience is the key.

“Interestingly, Anthony Jelonch starts – a quality operator and a guy I’ve played against many times – and I feel he is there to punch holes to create those opportunities as his superpowers are around those big carries.

“I think it’s also to ensure he has fitness confidence in his own mind after his ACL injury. I have no doubt that Francois Cros will come back in the final stages of the tournament; he is one of those super-intelligent players like Tom Curry or Peter O’Mahony who does so much around the breakdown for others and for Jelonch to fire his shots then Gregory Alldritt will have to play that slightly more focused role of breakdown management in Francois’ absence.

“Looking ahead, France are in a good place in terms of their trajectory. They are what I call one of the 150-30 sides of the tournament, and by that, I mean scored 150+ and conceded 30 or so. Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand are all in a similar place, with England just bubbling under them on 120-20 and the best defensive record in the tournament so far.

“These are the form sides of the Rugby World Cup, and we know from history that as we go to the final stages, defence and goalkicking are so important, so for France, a great defensive display is just as important as their attack.

“So for me, I want to see Italy come and test France, for the players to give their club colleagues and friends a real scare by respecting them and reacting to that respect.

“Can we do it? Yes, of course, but that means we don’t worry about the result before the match. We stick to the basic platforms that have been so important to our success, focus on the small details of every moment and winning as many of those as we can.

“It would be a massive achievement to win, but it’s just as important to walk off that pitch knowing you, as an Italian player, have left nothing out there and that you have shown the depth of character that I know is within our game.”

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