Italy vs England: Head-to-head Preview Ratings
After the drama of Italy unleashing “The Fox” last season and the general tension surrounding the comments of the two respective coaches in the aftermath and now build-up to this fixture, Italy vs England has more excitement around it this season than it has had for many a year.
The teams for the clash in Rome were announced earlier today and we have rated each player in the respective XVs, on a scale of 1-10.
So, who, man-for-man, comes out on top on paper?
- Matteo Minozzi 6 vs Mike Brown 7
Minozzi is an exciting player but you would expect Brown to have the edge on him in dealing with the aerial contests and making the one-on-one tackles required of full-backs. If the game breaks up and becomes loose, it could play into Minozzi’s hands.
- Tommaso Benvenuti 6.5 vs Anthony Watson 8
Benvenuti is almost this generation’s Andrea Masi, capable of playing multiple positions in the Italian back line. He is not quite the dangerous finisher out wide and threat from deep that Watson is, though.
- Tommaso Boni 6.5 vs Ben Te’o 7
Te’o could quite easily be higher than a seven here, but with the centre having played little rugby of late due to injury, there is a chance he has some early tournament rust to shake off in Rome. If he hits the ground running, this will be a more one-sided contest.
- Tommaso Castello 7.5 vs Owen Farrell 9
As well as Castello has played this season, this is a contest you have to give to Farrell. Farrell has been moving through the gears following a post-Lions series injury and is beginning to come into some excellent form. Castello enjoys the contact, though, so expect to see him run at Ford and Farrell.
- Mattia Bellini 7.5 vs Jonny May 7.5
Not much in this one, with Bellini in good form for Zebre and more than capable of hurting England. May has speed that Bellini doesn’t, but the Italian is very adept at finding space – not always on the wing – and is a good match for the Leicester man.
- Tommaso Allan 7 vs George Ford 8
Carlo Canna has shown good form in the PRO14 and it’s a bit of a surprise he doesn’t start here. If Ford is on song, however, he likely takes this match-up with Allan, who is a solid fly-half, but doesn’t have the same kind of result-defining ability that Ford does.
- Marcello Violi 6.5 vs Ben Youngs 7
We do have Youngs ahead here on the scorecard, but is this somewhere Italy can eek out an advantage? Youngs has had a tough season behind a Leicester pack that have failed to consistently deliver for him. It could be the England pack that gets him back on the front-foot.
- Andrea Lovotti 7 vs Mako Vunipola 8.5
Two props, it’s fair to say, who may not be the most adept scrummagers in their respective national teams, but who deliver in other areas, with their attacking ability and defensive energy. The nod must go to Vunipola here, who is as good as it gets in the loose for a prop.
- Leonardo Ghiraldini 6.5 vs Dylan Hartley 6.5
Two savvy veterans of the game. Set-piece security will be the priority and their leadership will be vital to both sides. Ghiraldini may have the edge in the loose, with Hartley delivering with his lineout throwing.
- Simone Ferrari 6.5 vs Dan Cole 7
Cole is another player to suffer from Leicester’s indifferent season and like Youngs, will be hoping the next two months with England put him back at the top of his game. Ferrari and Cole won’t be going head-to-head with each other and both will have eyes on working an advantage at the scrum against their opposition looseheads.
- Alessandro Zanni 6 vs Joe Launchbury 8
Zanni finally reaching his 100th cap for the Azzurri should be celebrated but he is going to have a tough day going up against a very effective English second row. Launchbury will be key to giving England front-foot ball in the absence of Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes.
- Dean Budd 6.5 vs Maro Itoje 9
Similar to Zanni, Budd is a good second row but it’s an area of the Italian team where there is a clear disparity between them and their English counterparts. An early season injury to Itoje has limited the amount of rugby he has played this season and he looks fresh and ready to make a significant contribution over the next two months.
- Sebastian Negri 6.5 vs Courtney Lawes 8
Negri has been flourishing for Benetton and looks as though he can be a big part of the Italian back-row moving forward. He’s going up against a British and Irish Lion in Lawes, though, who seems to have found his niche at Test level now on the blindside.
- Renato Giammarioli 7 vs Chris Robshaw 7.5
Giammarioli is one of the stories of the season in Italian rugby and has played a key role in some of Zebre’s more impressive performances. He is not dissimilar to Robshaw in style, but will deliver more in dynamic physical ability, particularly with ball in hand, where as the Englishman will rely on his stamina and work rate to outlast the Italian.
- Sergio Parisse 8 vs Sam Simmonds 7.5
Parisse may not be the one-man army he used to be, but he’s still extremely valuable all over the park. Simmonds is capable of lighting this game up if England can get on the front-foot but that lack of experience just sees the Italian edge this one.
Totals
Italy – 101.5
England – 115.5
Comments on RugbyPass
No Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
28 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
5 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
28 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments$950k for a Prop that isn’t fit enough to play 10 mins of rugby? Surely there is someone better to replace Big Mike with
4 Go to commentsFour Kiwis in that backline. A solid statement on the lack of invention, risk-taking and joy in the NH game; game of attrition and head- banging tedium. Longterm medical problems aplenty in the future!
6 Go to commentsGood article, I learnt quite a lot. A big sliding door moment was in the mid 00s when they rejected Steve Anderson's long term transformation and he wrote Ireland's strategy instead.
2 Go to commentsHi Dr Nick! I'm worried that I've started to enjoy watching England and have actually wanted them to win their last two games. What would you prescribe? On a more serious note, I've noticed that the standard of play in March is often better than early February. Do you think this is because of the weather or because the players have been together for longer?
28 Go to commentsMy question in all this brett is who is going to wear the consequences of these actions? Surely just getting the sack isn’t sufficient? A teenager working the till at woolies would probably get taken to court if they took $20 out of the till. You mean to tell me that someone can spend $2.6 million and get away with it? Where was it spent? What companies/people were the beneficiaries etc? How is it just being talked about as an ‘oopsie’ and we all just move on and not a matter of the court for gross negligence, fraud, take your pick…
21 Go to commentslove Manu too but England have relied on him coming back from injury for far too long and not sorted the position with someone else long term . It will be a blessing he has gone . Huge shame he was so injury prone . God speed Manu .
3 Go to commentsI agree with Ben Smith about Brett Cameron. The No. 6 position has to be a monster and a genuine lineout option, like Ollivon, Lawes (now Chessum), Du Toit, etc. The only player who fits that bill right now is Scott Barrett. A fit and fizzing Tuipolotu together with one of the young towers, Sam Darry or Josh Lord, would give Razor the freedom to play Barret at 6.
16 Go to commentsOutstanding article, Graham. Agree with all of it. And enjoy the style of writing too (particularly Grand Slap!).
3 Go to comments