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'They just monstered us': Italy react to 'training run' defeat to All Blacks
By Ben Smith
Italy head coach Kieran Crowley is hoping to ‘bin’ the 96-17 loss to the All Blacks as quickly as possible as they look to pick up the pieces before a do-or-die clash against France next week.
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The Italians produced some early passages with promised some fight but quickly fell behind as an Aaron Smith hat-trick propelled the All Blacks to a 49-3 half-time lead.
Although they fought back early in the second half with a well worked try to Ange Capuozzo, the All Blacks added seven more tries in the second half which Crowley described as a ‘glorified training run’ for them.
“They just monstered us. It was like a training run for them. I think we won 33 per cent in the scrum and 50 per cent in the lineout,” he said.
“They beat us up at the breakdown. What happened? We weren’t good enough, they were too good. I thought they were pretty outstanding tonight in their carrying and their cleanout work.
“We gave up those three tries in five minutes that really put us on the back foot and it was all gone from there. We’ve got to pick up the pieces, which we will. It was just not a very good day at the office.”
“We’ve still got to go through the processes of recovery. By tomorrow night or Monday morning this one has got to be chucked in the rubbish bin.”
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The set-piece for Italy fell apart as the All Blacks pinched five lineouts and starting winning scrums against the feed with a dominant pack in the second half.
It is a must-fix area for the Italians as the French are as strong, if not stronger, at scrum time.
“We have got to get our set-plays right, our lineouts right. As soon as we got the ball we either gave it away or gave a penalty away,” he said.
“But that was the pressure they were putting on us. We might not even review it, we might just chuck it in the bin, we will see.”
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The Kiwi coach hinted that the coaching staff would process the loss ‘locked in a room with beers’ to move on quickly, but wasn’t yet ruling out hope.
He believed Italy is fortunate to still be in the tournament with many other teams have their fate sealed.
France could potentially be knocked out of the tournament should they lose to Italy without securing a losing bonus point, with the rampant All Blacks likely to pick up a full five points against Uruguay.
“Yes it was a really bad game for us today but one bad game doesn’t make a bad team,” he said.
“We have to improve. As far as the coaches go we will probably lock ourselves in a room and have a few beers, I suppose. That might be the best way to get rid of it.”
Italy came within a whisker of beating France in Rome earlier in the year with a 29-24 loss where their big guns played.
France will still be without Antoine Dupont for the crunch game who is expected to aim for a quarter-final return.
Star wing Capuozzo was reluctant to analyse the game too much after being shell-shocked by the heavy score line, but reiterated that “World Cup isn’t over” for Italy.
“It’s hard to analyse in the heat of the moment. The score is very high,” he said.
“We put a lot of heart into the battle tonight, which is why it’s hard to analyse. We had a few injuries. We’re a bit disappointed after this match.
“The World Cup isn’t over yet. We’re still holding our heads high.”
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I think the article fails to understand the different dynamics between the countries. South African players leave the country because they can earn more in any of the major European leagues, and SARU doesn’t have the money or control to stop them. The situation is different in England. When English Qualified Players stop playing in England, they tend to go to France. Some older ones go to the US or Japan for a final payday in a less demanding competition, but the ones who are looking to maximise their earning power go to France, because it’s the only market in the game that pays more. The Top 14 is one of the most physically attritional leagues around, with a heavy emphasis on forward power and a very long league season. Players are hired to play, and contracts don’t usually include clauses allowing players to join up for International camps outside the International windows, or to have the RFU have a say over their training. The one famous exception was Jonny Wilkinson, but few other players have his buying power. I do think the RFU should be more flexible about players displaced by the club failures last year, and even for Joe Marchant, who moved because Eddie wasn’t selecting him only for Eddie to be replaced… But it needs to be a temporary measure while things settle down. I would place more of a focus on the RFU’s planned hybrid contracts, which will allow them longer term control over a core group of players. I also think they should look how to help develop emerging players who could fill problem positions or holes in the succession plan. Investment in the academies, and perhaps (cheaper) hybrid contracts for high potential players in positions where the succession plan is weaker would help.
Go to commentsWill Jordan will be Razor's #15, Beaudie will be #10, much in the same way Sexton was used by Ireland. D-Mac will once again be a bench utility. Narawa, Reece, Telea, Clarke, will headline wing options. Reiko too? Midfield is stacked too. Jordie, ALB, Reiko?, Amua?, Havilli, amongst others. Newbies? The 9s will be interesting. Regardless, the cattle are there, the x factor will be how Razor puts the bits & pieces together to make a mean machine. Exciting times.
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