'They're not going to sneak into town': All Blacks identify Italy's biggest threats

The All Blacks have been warned against underestimating Italy, with Dave Rennie expecting his team’s Wellington opponents to be a “different creature” to the team that lost to Japan last weekend.

A 27-10 defeat in Tokyo saw Italy score the fewest points of any team in round 1 of the Nations Championship, with the result labelled an upset after Italy’s historically successful Six Nations campaign.

The Italians won just one turnover and conceded 26 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, and have made just three changes to the starting XV to face the All Blacks, but Rennie and company are preparing to face the best version of the Azzuri in the New Zealand capital. That means squaring off with a team that bested both Scotland and England five months ago.

“They’ll be a different creature,” Rennie told reporters in Wellington. “Maybe they underestimated Japan. It’s pretty hot conditions over there at this time of year, and maybe they had an eye towards this game, so we won’t make the same mistake. We’re well aware of their ability.

“They come with a lot of line speed as well. They’ve got a very good scrum that troubled a lot of the Six Nations sides; they beat England, beat Scotland, beat Australia last year, beat Wales last year as well.

“They’re not going to sneak into town; we’re well aware of the threat.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

34 - 32

26 - 52

33 - 19

17 - 25

13 - 26

27 - 10

31 - 17

23 - 18

33 - 8

20 - 13

4

Wins

1

2

Streak

2

22

Tries Scored

8

35

Points Difference

-58

3/5

First Try

1/5

3/5

First Points

2/5

3/5

Race To 10 Points

2/5

Italy finished fourth in the 2026 Six Nations despite scoring the fewest points, forcing opponents to play on Italian terms in low-scoring fixtures.

Inside centre Tommaso Menoncello ended the tournament with the most carry metres of any player, and was second only to Scotland’s Kyle Steyn for defenders beaten while winning a competition-high three breakdown turnovers.

Billy Proctor and Jordie Barrett will be the Kiwi midfielders tasked with diffusing the Italian star’s threat. Proctor said Menoncello and running mate Juan Ignacio Brex make a “great combination.”

“They work really well together; the ball interplay between them — they like to feed off each other. Sometimes they swap around and have their bigger ball-carrier in the centre, so we’re well aware of what they possess and what they’re going to bring.”

Rennie highlighted the strengths he sees in Gonzalo Quesada’s squad and noted the insight of 2IC Neil Barnes, who previously worked as Italy’s forwards coach.

“They’ve got a good set piece, they’ve had a very good scrum. So it’s really important we bar up there, because we can’t give them an in from a set-piece point of view. They can play. They’ve got quality backs, and they have the ability to sweep and get big numbers on one side of the field. They’re really innovative; they’ve got a lot of really good strikes, and then they’ll come hard defensively.

“That can cause havoc for us, but can create opportunity too, if we’re good enough to hold our feet and pick them off.

“They’re a good side. A lot of those boys have been together for a long time now. I know Neil Barnes, who had a fair bit to do with Italy when Kieran (Crowley) was there, knows a lot of the boys well. So it’s been good having him in the tent.”