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Ange Capuozzo's message to those who doubted the All Blacks
Italian winger Ange Capuozzo made a point to mention those who had doubted the All Blacks ability to fire after Italy’s demoralising 96-17 defeat at Parc Olympique in Lyon.
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The fleet-footed star was tasked with marking in-form All Black winger Mark Telea, who proved a handful to contain with 120 running metres and a try.
The 24-year-old didn’t have much opportunity in open space himself, but did make the most of his rare chance early in the second half to outsprint the Barrett brothers to the corner for a well-deserved try.
Capuozzo revealed he had heard all the talk during the week that the All Blacks were “beatable” as their former aura fades, but after the result he had words for the doubters.
“I heard a lot of things during the week about New Zealand being beatable and that they weren’t at their best,” he said.
“I’d like to invite anyone who’s been analysing this team to come and play against them. They’re a settled, serious team with a lot going for them.
“They took us seriously, and that’s a form of respect on their part.
“They played a precise and clinical game. We can’t be ashamed of our performance. We came up against a great team.”
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Last year’s Breakthrough Player of the Year planned on having “a good night’s sleep” to get over the loss and wake up with all focus on France, the remaining pool game that will decide Italy’s fate.
They can still qualify for the quarter-finals from Pool B and knock hosts France out of the World Cup in a week’s time.
That may seem unlikely however France struggled to see off Italy in February by 29-24 where the Italians had the lead late.
France’s star havles pair Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont were on the pitch in Rome and will be missing this time around in the rematch at the Parc Olympique next Friday.
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However, they will have to address the faltering set-piece if they are to provide enough quality ball to Capuozzo and the likes of Monty Ioane and Tommaso Allan.
“We’re not going to stop there. We had some pretty positive points when we’ve managed to hold on to the ball. We’ve got seven days to prepare for the match against France,” Capuozzo said.
“That’s the goal.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The rise of Hunter Paisami! Good read Nick (as ever). Cheers.
3 Go to commentsAs a long term glos supporter saturday was the last straw. Terrible run of results in league since Jan 23. No excuses , there are 3 conclusions Players simply arent good enough. Coaching team not good enough. Or combination of the 2. Either way glos lost pride in what used to be a team others feared.
1 Go to commentsWhat an interesting article, Nick. Late here, so will comment tomorrow am. “In the UK, you might have three whole months when you train set-piece and it’s pissing down. Over here, we very rarely experience games severely affected by weather..” Did you see the Waratahs game on the weekend ? If not have a look at the weather for that struck that one. Drowning would have a been a worry for any player trapped at the bottomof a pile up. Suspect the water polo people might be looking with interest at some of those rugby players after that game😀
3 Go to commentsThis article overlooks how the 9 position has developed to be a playmaker, which these 2 are both excellent at. Defences are so good now there is not the luxury of going 9 -> 10 on every play. Playing “off 9” as they say, has become very commonplace these days, but 10+ years ago you hardly saw this. Boiling the great modern 9s down to box kicking doesn’t do justice to how good the great ones have become. Dupont would be the first choice 10 in most teams in the world, JGP pops up in places you would never expect a 9 to be.
21 Go to commentsThe banning of the croc roll will make carrying the ball into contact far more risky, leading to more kicking, and the change to the Dupont law will mean forwards have to do far more running than they do now. As a result I think there will be a rise of smaller, more mobile forwards who are strong defenders and strong over the ball like Kirifi.
3 Go to commentsWhat does the ownership of the club have to do with the poor performance of the team. It’s not as if he’s coaching them or in any way influencing the composition of the teams. I honestly don’t understand the comment.
1 Go to commentsHe knows his body is not up to the work load of international rugby. The fact that Cane only played only 27 of the 46 games the ABs played while he was officially captain is a telling statistic. And that excludes the time he had out with neck injury. He was never able to put a long enough body of work together to get back to his best without a new injury setting him back. He knows better than anyone that the problem will get worse, not better, given the same workload. Correct decision and good luck to him.
9 Go to commentsWith three clubs it's surely death by oligopoly!😂 I suspect that other french clubs like Montpellier rich enough to compete, they are just missing some vital ingredients. Do you think that keeping an eight player bench but only being allowed to use four would level the playing field a bit? The 12 changes rule sounds disastrous for running rugby.
117 Go to commentsNice article
32 Go to commentsSurely they aren’t that short of 10s in the northern hemisphere?
1 Go to commentsBest wishes to a true warrior who gave everything for his team and country. He was no McCaw but the closest we've had in recent years in terms putting his head into dark places, leading the defensive line and securing the attacking breakdown - the core roles of a modern open side. If only he could have played more tests under Foster and Plumtree with blindsides who fulfilled their core roles. 2027 was always going to be a long shot. Hopefully Papalii fulfils the promise of 2021 and late 2022 and/or Lakai turns out to be as good as he looks.
9 Go to commentsFair play to him. A lot of exciting talent coming up in the loose forward position, can’t wait to see the next generation.
9 Go to commentsSam wants to focus on his family and learning how to tackle legally…what’s Japanese for ‘bend at the waist’?
9 Go to commentsNice story
1 Go to commentsThere's a log jam at the moment of quality number sevens competing for an All Black jersey. I think Du Plessis Kirifi is certainly one of them and has now developed an accurate sharp and energetic game as compared to when he was first picked. Would love to see Billy Harmon get first dibs at the jersey (been outstanding in a struggling side for a few seasons now), as I believe we've seen enough of Papali'i to understand what he brings to the role. Lakai is young and will get his shot. Du Plessis would be a bolt off the bench but his lack of versatility may hinder his chances.
3 Go to commentsGood Luck Sam, enjoy Japan.
9 Go to commentsWhen Sth Africa had Joost and Honiball at 9 and 10 they were almost impenetrable in and around the ruck. Even Jonah couldn't make headway in those channels so they were very hard to get in behind. They had a fantastic side who played a fast, rugged style which won them the Tri Nations during that period. That side would beat their current mob of which I have no doubt.
2 Go to commentsAwesome win by the NZ U20s. They were excellent in the 2nd half with some very patient and accurate phase play, a dominant scrum and decent lineout. Simpson controlled things very well at 10 and it was amazing to see the team maintain their composure and score points when he was in the sin bin for a very harsh yellow card.
2 Go to commentscome on Toulouse
1 Go to commentsNot unless the cartels get interested in rugby like they did w football
1 Go to comments