Rugby World Cup, Italy-Uruguay: Crowley and Lamaro’s press conference

Italy-Uruguay is the first key match of the world triptych awaiting the Azzurri. After the walk with Namibia and before looking for the feat against the All Blacks and France, in fact, Crowley’s team must earn at least third place in the group and automatic qualification for the next World Cup, that of 2027. In the press conference, the the coach explained the main formation choices, starting with the scrum-half Alessandro Garbisi and the winger/fullback Lorenzo Pani, the surprises of this starting XV: “He has always played well on the occasions he has had, he has excellent fundamentals and we count a lot about him. Pani has trained very well, it’s a great opportunity for him.” For the second time, after Italy-Romania, the two Garbisi brothers will start from the beginning, but this time Paolo will play first centre: “This choice allows us to move Allan to the opening position and to bring Capuozzo back to his original role, that of fullback, in which he will be able to better exploit the spaces that will be created during the match.”

On Capuozzo

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The coach then focused on the Italian fullback, at the center of many questions asked in the press conference: “We know what he is capable of doing. He is making an important journey, because when you explode everyone tells you that you are very good, but then you have to learn to manage the pressure of the fans and the press and continue to work on your game. He is doing it well, but we try to manage it because he is a player who is asked to do everything, and obviously he can’t do everything alone. We have to take care of these kids and take care of what’s around them.”

Lamaro’s words

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There is great respect for Uruguay, capable of frightening France last Thursday, but also the awareness of having what it takes to bring the match home, as Italy captain Michele Lamaro explained: “We want to dominate the game from the start, increase the pressure up front so we can exploit the strength and speed of our backs. We know that Uruguay can represent a danger, because they are a passionate, physical team with good players, but we are ready to face it, we have prepared very well.” Crowley is also of the same opinion, knowing even before the debut match against the South Americans that he would be facing a strong team: “I’m not surprised by their performance against France. Their number 9 (Santiago Arata, ed.) is one of the best midfielders in the French championship, 19 players have already played in a World Cup and this guarantees them great experience.”