Back in the Soviet Union days, Italy had a hard time winning this match but recent results have favoured the Azzurri. If they are to have a chance of progressing, this one needs to as well.
WALKING WOUNDED: Rugby
The phrase 'much-changed team' hardly cuts it for Italy in this match as Nick Mallet has named a side with 12 personnel changes from the one that faced Australia, and one of the three players backing up is involved in a positional switch.
Nikolai Nerush has made a few changes from the side that faced the USA, but most involve promoting reserves into the run-on XV. Perhaps the most important will be the inclusion of Adam Byrnes at lock, which should go some way towards shoring up what was a shaky set-piece for the Bears.
Italy was strong against Australia for the first 50 minutes but then got overrun in a 15-minute burst when the Wallabies backs cut loose and posted four tries. There was plenty to admire in the way the Azzurri forwards went about their task and they should have scored from a pushover scrum towards the end, but it actually went forward too fast and the ball spewed out the side just short of the line. While the final score was an accurate reflection of both sides' ability to take chances, Italy still looked better than a 26-point loser on the day.
WHO'S HOT/PLAYER TO WATCH:
Italy fullback Andrea Masi had several promising moments against Australia but his attacking opportunities dried up as the match went along. He still looked positive running the ball from the back, while he was steady on defence and showed of a decent boot when needed. This match should allow him more room to move and, if Italy can get him into the game, he could create a lot of damage in midfield or on the counter. He has done big things for his country in Test rugby, including scoring their late winner in the 2011 Six Nations match against France
TEAMS:
Italy> 1. Salvatore Perugini, 2. Fabio Ongaro, 3. Lorenzo Cittadini, 4. Quentin Geldenhuys, 5. Marco Bortolami, 6. Paul Derbyshire, 7. Mauro Bergamasco, 8. Sergio Parisse (capt), 9. Edoardo Gori, 10. Riccardo Bocchino, 11. Luke McLean, 12. Matteo Pratichetti, 13. Tommaso Benvenuti, 14. Guilio Toniolatti, 15. Andrea Masi.
Reserves: 16. Tommaso D’Apice, 17. Martin Castrogiovanni, 18. Cornelius van Zyl, 19. Alessandro Zanni, 20. Pablo Canavosio, 21. Luciano Orquera, 22. Alberto Sgarbi.
Russia> 1. Vladimir Botvinnikov, 2. Vladislav Korshunov (capt), 3. Ivan Prishchepenko, 4. Alexander Voytov, 5. Adam Byrnes, 6. Vyacheslav Grachev, 7. Andrey Garbuzov, 8. Victor Gresev, 9. Alexander Shakirov, 10. Konstantin Rachkov, 11. Vladimir Ostroushko, 12. Alexey Makovetskiy, 13. Andrey Kuzin, 14. Vasily Artemyev, 15. Igor Klyuchnikov.
Reserves: 16. Valery Tsnobiladze, 17. Alexander Khrokin, 18. Denis Antonov, 19. Artem Fatakhov, 20. Alexander Yanyushkin, 21 Mikhail Sidorov, 22. Yuri Kushnarev.
REFEREE: Wayne Barnes (England).
Match details:
Date: Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Time: 19:30 local,
07:30 GMT, 13:30 BDT
Venue: Trafalgar Park, Nelson
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Played 17: Italy 7, Russia 9, drawn 1
HEAD-TO-HEAD IN WORLD CUPS: No previous matches
Time: 19:30 local,
07:30 GMT, 13:30 BDT
Venue: Trafalgar Park, Nelson
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Played 17: Italy 7, Russia 9, drawn 1
HEAD-TO-HEAD IN WORLD CUPS: No previous matches
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