'He is nowhere near the finished product': Wasps' verdict on Matteo Minozzi, but it isn't a negative
Wasps boss Lee Blackett has outlined his excitement that his full-back Matteo Minozzi has bounced his way back into form following a difficult spring where he opted out of Italy selection for the Guinness Six Nations and then lost his place in his Gallagher Premiership club’s XV.
It was January 24 when the 24-year-old who has 22 caps for his country made himself unavailable for the Italians’ championship campaign, posting a difficult message to social media to explain his reasons.
“The last year has changed many things, changing the country and a few months after having to experience the UK lockdown away from everyone has been a great and difficult challenge,” he wrote. “Meanwhile, I’ve worked like never before in my life to find my place in a super competitive reality like the Premiership and to find myself ready for Italy last fall.
“I wanted to be honest with Franco (Smith, Italy head coach) and I want to be honest with all the Italian enthusiasts who believe in me and love me: I’m physically and mentally tired, a bit too much to live another two months in a bubble. I hope even if you can’t support it, you’ll understand my choice.”
Minozzi went on to start the next five Premiership matches for Wasps but he then lost his place, having to bench twice before reclaiming the No15 jersey last weekend against Sale and signalling a return to form that has ensured he will wear it again when his club hosts Clermont in the Heineken Champions Cup on Saturday.
"He is absolutely desperate to be out there"
– 20-year-old Alfie Barbeary is back in harness at Wasps after surgery halted his December gallop as a Premiership player of the month award and an England squad call-up#ChampionsCup #GallagherPremhttps://t.co/unqppBIRSW
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 31, 2021
“We all know what a good individual he can be,” said Wasps boss Blackett about Minozzi who first linked up with the Coventry-based club following the 2019 World Cup in Japan. “His English has improved massively which has made a massive difference. Not just that, his overall game has been improving and I still think there are big improvements there, that is the exciting thing with Matteo – he is nowhere near the finished product. There is plenty more in him.
“Also what I would say for where we probably struggled a little bit in places is strength in depth. Rob Miller has come in and done a really good job and now there is pressure on Matteo to perform. The more we can have that the better.
“Paolo Odogwu coming back gives us competition at 13 and on the wings and before you know, that competitive edge, that competition for places is going to drive everyone in the environment. The thing in the last couple of months was if you were fit you were playing. That was not far off where we were.
“Now you are starting to see a few bodies come back and the competition for places is going to be massive and is going to drive individuals – and we have seen that in Matteo. No player likes being left out but there is that hunger to keep the shirt and I thought he did a good performance last weekend. I actually thought his communication off the ball was the best I have seen in him.”
An appearance for Tonga ?? at an Olympics 7s qualifier in June on the same weekend as the Premiership semi-finals could open the door to World Cup 2023 in France #GallagherPrem #Tokyo2020https://t.co/zc78U9zjNG
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 30, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments