Genoa – “My God, how low I have fallen”, murmurs Wales on the way to Rome. “The playoff for the wooden spoon,” he winks Warren Gatland, the New Zealand coach who led the Dragons to four successes in the 6 Nations and in this second adventure is experiencing difficulties he would not have foreseen: a president who resigned due to misogyny and sexism, a sense of economic dissatisfaction which led to threats of a the match against England, a clear difficulty in the replacement. Result: after three rounds Wales are zero and the reverses against Ireland and Scotland were very heavy.
For Italy, which hasn’t won at the Olimpico for 9 years and 51 weeks, is the occasion but Kieran Crowley, New Zealander like Gatland and with a more illustrious past as a player than his colleague, is not a man for proclamations: “Deciding on who is the favorite is a topic that doesn’t interest me. I think about the performance, the game plan and the physical confrontation that they will set up ”.
For fourteen/15 it is the same team that for an hour was very close to Ireland number 1 in the rankings and in the lead with full points, including offensive bonuses. The fifteenth that is missing is important: Ange Capuozzo. The unpredictable fullback, damaged scapula, will return to prepare for the World Cup, in France in early autumn. “Thomas Allan – says Crowley – is different from Capuozzo but it can offer alternatives in the foot game”. In the role, some experience both in blue and in his club, the London Harlequins.
The scenario is obvious: Wales will set up on the scrum, which is solid, and on Biggar’s high kicks; Italy will focus on finding spaces to free Lorenzo Cannone’s raids, capable of embarrassing the Irish, Menoncello’s evasive skills and Bruno’s dry sprints.
On the starting line the ambition of the president Marzio Innocenti was to balance two victories. Just two games left: against the Welsh (who less than a year ago allowed Italy, with that thriller ending, to interrupt the black series that had been going on for 36 games) it can be done; in a week’s time against Scotland who sail high the task is more arduous. But not collecting the 17th spoon is something. In any case, it would be made of a much more precious wood than those accumulated in difficult seasons.
6 Nations, fourth round: Saturday 15.15 Italy-Wales, 17.45 England-France, Sunday 16.00 Scotland-Ireland. Standings: Ireland 15, England, Scotland and France 10, Italy 1, Wales 0. Live on Sky Sport 1 and Arena.
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