The 52-8 against Namibia does not satisfy the coach too much: “I would have signed to score 50 points, but there are many areas in which we cannot afford to make so many mistakes”. Cannone man of the match: “A victory that gives us confidence”. Captain Lamaro: “There was also a lot of emotion”
Satisfied with the result, less so with some aspects which saw his Italy experiencing some too many difficulties in the face of a significantly inferior opponent: coach Kieran Crowley, after the 52-8 victory over Namibia in their debut at the Rugby World Cup, promoted with reserves his Italy. “If they had told me before the match that I would score 50 points, I would have signed,” said the New Zealand coach at the end of the match in Saint-Etienne.
IMPROVE – Crowley who, however, is keen to underline the aspect he liked least: “So if you look in perspective, we lost around 22 balls and we can’t afford it. It must also be said that he was very hot. The boys seemed very excited to me, so we’ll take this result and move on.” We also didn’t like the attitude in the breakdown: “In the first half they closed us down very well, we need to be better when we get to that area. And we conceded the lead too easily. In short, there is a lot to review when we analyze the match and we will have to start from there.” Uruguay is already on the horizon: “We will prepare in exactly the same way. They’re quite structured and quite physical, so we’re up for a big challenge. But before thinking about them – concludes Crowley – we deserve to celebrate a bit, given that after all we won a test match at the World Cup”.
SPACES – Captain Michele Lamaro: “We were 100% ready, but we can still improve some things. There was a bit of emotion, but that’s normal in a World Cup debut, the first for most players. In the first half the attacking midfielders didn’t have the balls they expected, so in those cases it’s up to the forwards to push the team forward. We knew we had a better condition than them and in fact in the second half we managed to create more space and play our game.” Man of the match Lorenzo Cannone: “It’s an incredible feeling to receive this recognition and the victory was very important, the best way to gain confidence. We are a young team and it was extremely important to reach the goal with both the backs and the forwards.”
September 9th – 5.13pm
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