RUGBY WORLD CUP

11.10.2015
Japan 28, United States 18 in Gloucester (World Cup, Pool B)
Argentina 64, Namibia 19 in Leicester (World Cup, Pool C)
Italy 32, Romania 22 in Exeter (World Cup, Pool D)
Ireland 24, France 9 in Cardiff (World Cup, Pool D)

Reviews
Ireland placed themselves at the top of Pool D after defeating France 24-9 in Cardiff. There concern though is for a trio of injured players who may not be fit enough to play in next weekends quarter final match against Argentina. Coach Schmidt may have to find four replacements for injured players Peter O'Mahony, Paul O'Connell and Jonathan Sexton.

France will rue their lost opportunities on attack and will face a real battle against old foes New Zealand next weekend.

In other results Italy eventually defeated Romania but not without the Eastern Europeans putting up a great fight. Argentina overwhelmed a tired Namibia whilst Japan finished their Rugby World Cup tournament with a win but not enough to secure a quarter final place.

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Sunday’s Fixtures 11 October

United States v Japan in Gloucester (World Cup, Pool B)
Argentina v Namibia in Leicester (World Cup, Pool C)
Italy v Romania in Exeter (World Cup, Pool D)
France v Ireland in Cardiff (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
The USA v Japan game is for pride only. Because Scotland defeated Samoa Japan did not reach the quarter finals. But they can be proud of their achievement in gaining automatic qualification to the 2019..hang on! They automatically qualified as they will be the host nation.

Pool C has also been sorted so the Argentina-Namibia game has no bearing.

The action is in Pool D. Ireland and France clash to see who tops this pool and has an easier ride to the semi-finals. Romania and Italy clash for third place. Romania will desperate to win this game, qualify for 2019 and push the claim that Romania and Georgia should be included into the 6 Nations tournament.

There is a lot to play for tomorrow.

Predictions
Japan to win by 14 points. Score 27-13
Argentina to win by 31 points. Score 42-11
Ireland to win by 8 points. Score 21-13
Italy to win by 9 points. Score 24-15

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Results 4 October

04.10.2015
Argentina 45, Tonga 16 in Leicester (World Cup, Pool B)
Ireland 16, Italy 9 in London (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
Argentina cruised past Tonga in Pool B whilst a below form Ireland managed a close 16-9 win over a resurgent Italy. The Italians had charismatic leader Sergio Parisse back in the team following injury.

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Sunday 4 October

Argentina v Tonga in Leicester (World Cup, Pool B)

Briefly
Argentina should account for Tonga in their Pool B clash

Prediction: Argentina by 16 points. Score 37-21

TEAMS

Argentina
15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (Capt.), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements
16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Horacio Agulla.
Head Coach: Daniel Hourcade

Tonga
15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Telusa Veainu, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Sione Piukala,
11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Viliami Ma'afu,
7 Nili Latu (Capt.), 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joseph Tuineau, 4 Tukulua Lokotui,
3 Halani 'Aulika, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements
16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Sona Taumalolo, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Latiume Fosita, 23 David Halaifonua.
Head Coach: Mana Otai

Ireland v Italy in London (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
Ireland should have little difficulty against 6 Nations rivals Italy.

Prediction: Ireland by 28 points. Score 45-17

TEAMS

Ireland
15 Simon Zebo, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Robert Henshaw,
11 David Kearney, 10 Jonathon Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 James Heaslip,
7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (Capt.), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Michael Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements
16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Nathan White, 19 Devin Toner,
20 Christopher Henry, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald
Head Coach: Joe Schmidt

Italy
15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori,
8 Sergio Parisse (Capt.), 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements
16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Mauro Bergamasco, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti.
Head Coach: Jacques Brunel

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Saturday 27 September

26.09.2015
Wales 28, England 25 at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)
South Africa 46, Samoa 6 in Birmingham (World Cup, Pool B)
Italy 23, Canada 18 in Leeds (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
After being behind in just about every aspect of the games Wales stormed home in the last quarter of the match to snatch a 28-25 win over England in their pool match. The Twickenham crowd was noisy and full of song for most of the match as England looked to have the game well under control when leading 21-12 with 30 minutes remaining. Wales’ comeback was remarkable but came with costly injuries.

England now have to win against Australia on the 3rd October to hold second place in the pool or become the first Rugby World Cup host to miss the quarter finals. Desperate stuff.

South Africa blew away the memory of the loss to Japan with an emphatic 46-6 victory over a brave but outclassed Samoan side. The Samoans were not match for a South African side that were determined to stamp their mark on this tournament. Sadly South African captain Jean de Villiers has been ruled out of the tournament with a broken jaw.

Italy had to struggle past a gallant Canadian side that came close to scoring the second major upset of the tournament.

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Games Saturday 26 September

26.09.2015
England v Wales at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)
South Africa v Samoa in Birmingham (World Cup, Pool B)
Italy v Canada in Leeds (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
England v Wales and South Africa v Samoa reviewed elsewhere on this blog

Italy v Canada

POOL D

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	TF	TA	BP	PT
FRANCE	2	2	0	0	70	22	48	7	2	1	9
IRELAND	1	1	0	0	50	7	43	7	1	1	5
ITALY	1	0	0	1	10	32	-22	1	2	0	0
CANADA	1	0	0	1	7	50	-43	1	7	0	0
ROMANIA	1	0	0	1	11	38	-27	1	5	0	0

This will be a very difficult pool for Italy to qualify from for the quarter finals. They are up against France and Ireland. To have any chance they will need to score bonus points against Canada. This they can do but I expect Canada to put in a tough performance against Italy, sniffing weaknesses in the Italian play and hoping for the second major upset in this tournament. Although it will be close I don’t expect Italy to lose.

Prediction: Italy by 10 points. Score 23-13

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015: Other Results Day 2

19.09.2015
Georgia 17, Tonga 10 in Gloucester (World Cup, Pool C)
Ireland 50, Canada 7 in Cardiff (World Cup, Pool D)
France 32, Italy 10 at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool D)

Briefly
Georgia caused a minor surprise by defeating Tonga in Pool C. Tonga’s build up has been impressive but today Georgia, playing with their usual scrum power scored 2 tries to 1.

Ireland and France predictably won their first games in the tournament.

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015

THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT. THE WEBB ELLIS TROPHY

Past winners
1987-New Zealand
1991-Australia
1995-South Africa
1999-Australia
2003-England
2007-South Africa
2011-New Zealand
2015-?

Opening Games This Weekend

18.09.2015
England v Fiji at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool A)

19.09.2015
South Africa v Japan in Brighton (World Cup, Pool B)
Tonga v Georgia in Gloucester (World Cup, Pool C)
Ireland v Canada in Cardiff (World Cup, Pool D)
France v Italy at Twickenham (World Cup, Pool D)

20.09.2015
Wales v Uruguay in Cardiff (World Cup, Pool A)
Samoa v United States at Brighton (World Cup, Pool B)
New Zealand v Argentina in London (World Cup, Pool C)

6 NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Final Round

21.03.2015
Wales 61, Italy 20 in Rome (6 Nations)
Ireland 40, Scotland 10 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
England 55, France 35 at Twickenham (6 Nations)

Briefly
A rush of point scoring saw some amazing results in the final round. In the end England just couldn’t gather enough points to overhaul Ireland who take the title for the second year in a row. Earlier Wales set the pace with a huge win over Italy scoring 47 points in the second half.

WALES v ITALY: 6 Nations

21.03.2015

Venue: Rome

Preview
Italy’s last chance to redeem themselves for 2015 6 Nations. Wales will be intending to win by as big a score as they can to put themselves in a position to win the 6 Nations Championship.

No Sergio Parisse for Italy.

Last Five Encounters
01.02.2014 Wales 23-15 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
23.02.2013 Wales 26-9 in Rome (6 Nations)
10.03.2012 Wales 24-3 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
26.02.2011 Wales 24-16 in Rome (6 Nations)
20.03.2010 Wales 33-10 in Cardiff (6 Nations)

Italy last defeated Wales in 2007, winning 23-20 in Rome in a 6 Nations fixture. They drew 16-16 in 2006 and Italy won 30-22 in 2003 since Italy joined the International Championship.

Italy Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
15.03.2015 v France L 0-29 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Trophy)
28.02.2015 v Scotland W 22-19 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
14.02.2015 v England L 17-47 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v Ireland L 3-26 in Rome (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v South Africa L 6-22 in Padova

Wales Last Five P 5, W 4, L 1
14.03.2015 v Ireland W 23-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
28.02.2015 v France W 20-13 in Paris (6 Nations)
14.02.2015 v Scotland W 26-23 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v England L 16-21 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
29.11.2014 v South Africa W 12-6 in Cardiff

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Wales 3rd, Italy 14th
Europe Table: Wales 1st, Italy 5th

World Rugby Ranking Points
Wales 83.90, Italy 72.01 

Prediction: Wales by 22 points Score: 34-12

TEAMS

Italy
15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Andrea Masi,
11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (Capt.), 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements
16 Andrea Manici, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Quintin Geldenhuys, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

Wales
15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 James Roberts, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Daniel Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau,
7 Samuel Warburton (Capt), 6 Daniel Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Robert Evans.
Replacements
16 Kenneth Owens, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams.

FRANCE 29, ITALY 0: 6 Nations

15.03.2015

Briefly
Italy gagged in front of their home crowd. France showed their usual grit and determination and eventually ground the Italians out of the game. France also popped up a few moments of brilliance (as they can do) giving rise to some optimism against England next weekend.

For Italy they must be terribly disappointed with their performance.Sergio Parisse was playing his 112th test for Italy, a record. Injuries before and during the game certainly affected their confidence. Next week they face Wales at home again.

FRANCE v ITALY: 6 Nations

15.03.2015

Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Referee: JP Doyle (England)

Preview
The Garibaldi Cup is at stake here in Rome this Sunday. Named after the famous Italian Patriot it is the symbol of supremacy between these two rugby nations. France holds the cup.

So who would be the favourite going into this test match? The time would have been when ‘France’ would have immediately been said. Is this case in Rome today?

Italy are brimming with confidence following their narrow win over Scotland at Murrayfield two weeks ago. This will be a special occasion for Sergio Parisse as he trots out onto the paddock for his 112th and Italian record test match.Such is the confidence that although available veteran prop Castrogiovanni has not been recalled to the team

France have shown grit and determination in their three matches for a win and two losses. The grit and determination has been without that French flare that we have come to expect. The unpredictability of the French has not appeared so far this season. You can expect only grit and determination.

French coach Saint-Andre has made more changes to this side. His selection policies have been influenced by injuries but setting up successful combinations has not resulted.

It’s all on in Rome. It should be a cracker!

Last Five Encounters
09.02.2014 France 30-6 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)
03.02.2013 Italy 23-18 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)
04.02.2012 France 30-12 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)
12.03.2011 Italy 22-21 in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)
14.03.2010 France 46-20 in Paris (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)

France has lost the last two test matches against Italy in Rome. They last won there in 2009.

France Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
28.02.2015 v Wales L 13-20 in Paris (6 Nations)
14.02.2015 v Ireland L 11-18 in Dublin (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v Scotland W 15-8 in Paris (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v Argentina L 13-18 in Paris
15.11.2014 v Australia W 29-26 in Paris

Italy Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
28.02.2015 v Scotland W 22-19 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
14.02.2015 v England L 17-47 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v Ireland L 3-26 in Rome (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v South Africa L 6-22 in Padova
14.11.2014 v Argentina L 18-20 in Genoa 

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Italy 8th, France 11th
Europe Table: France 4th, Italy 5th

World Rugby Ranking Points
France 78.96, Italy 73.08

Prediction: Italy by 4 points

Teams

Italy
15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Andrea Masi,
11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse,(Capt.), 7 Samuela Vunisa, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno,
4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements
16 Andrea Manici, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Barbini, 20 Guglielmo Palazzini, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

Head Coach: Jacque Brunel

France
15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Maxime Mermoz,
11 Noa Nakaitaci, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Sébastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (Capt.), 5 Yoann Maestri,
4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements
16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Vincent Debaty, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Damien Chouly, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Jules Plisson, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

Head Coach: Phillipe Saint-Andre

TEST RUGBY THIS WEEKEND; 14-15 March

14.03.2015
Ireland v Wales in Cardiff (6 Nations)
Scotland v England at Twickenham (6 Nations; Calcutta Cup)
Russia v Georgia in Tbilisi (REC 1A)
Spain v Portugal in Lisbon (REC 1A)
Romania v Germany in Heidelberg (REC 1A)
Moldova v Belgium in Brussels (REC 1B)
Ivory Coast v Senegal in Toulouse (Friendly)

15.03.2015
France v Italy in Rome (6 Nations; Garibaldi Cup)

Briefly
The 6 Nations International Championship heads into the fourth round this weekend. Ireland head to Wales in what could decide the competition winner. Ireland needs to win to keep their ‘Grand Slam’ intentions alive.

Scotland travels to Twickenham to face England in the traditional Calcutta match. Both sides lost two weekends ago but Scotland’s performance against Italy was woeful. Expect a big lift from the Scots for this one.

Sunday’s France v Italy clash in Rome has a mouth watering prospect of a possible Italian win. Playing at home lifts the Italians and after defeating Scotland two weeks ago they are on a high. France has lost to Ireland and Wales and are struggling.

The Rugby Europe Championship continues with the Russia-Georgia clash being top of the bill. Georgia hasn’t set the world on fire in their last two encounters whilst Russia has defeated Germany and Romania to lift their performances. These two nations actually fought a war only a few years ago. The Russians can expect a ‘warm’ reception in Tbilisi.

The Spain-Portugal clash looks even but Spain has been playing the better rugby lately but Portugal has got the home advantage.

Romania should have too much strength for a struggling Germany.

Moldova travelled to Amsterdam two weeks ago with a weakened squad and lost. They do not travel well. If they lose to Belgium this weekend their hopes for promotion to the elite level of European rugby will take a dive yet again.

In a friendly encounter in France Senegal faces their African cousins the Ivory Coast. I’d expect all players to be France-based. Both these African nations will contest the African Cup Division 1B in early July.

6 NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

28.02.2015
Wales 20, France 13 in Paris (6 Nations)
Italy 22, Scotland 19 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)

Review
Italy caused the upset of the day with a determined win against a Scotland side display all that is awful about Scottish rugby. This has been described as the worst display so far under new coach Vern Cotter. The Italian forwards set up this victory so much for my comments about an ‘ageing pack’.

Wales did enough, just, against France in Paris. It was a dour struggle. For the fourth year in a row France will languish around the middle to bottom place on the 6 Nations table. Saint Andre’s place as coach will now come into question probably too late for the Rugby World Cup.

All eyes are on the Ireland-England clash Sunday. Can’t wait

ITALY v SCOTLAND: 6 Nations International Championship

28.02.2015

Venue: Murrayfield

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Preview
It was inevitable that Scotland and Italy will clash to probably decide the holder of the wooden spoon for this tournament. Recent from both sides leaves us little choice.

Scotland have the advantage of the home ground. They have also put together impressive performances both against France and recently Wales. Take into account their good performances in the November internationals and it’s easy to see the impact coach Vernan Cotter has had on this side. Sadly at the moment it is just not enough. Perhaps leading up to the World Cup Scotland will come into form as there is the hint they could surprise.

Italy has also shown a few glimpses of sparkle but that’s all it has been. No longer is their aging forward pack (Parisse apart) a dangerous menace in games. After a few bright performances over the last few seasons 2014-15 so far has been a disaster for the Azzuri. They have recieved a set back with injuries to experienced players Castrogiovanni and Masi, whilst Sarto is also injured.

Previous Encounters
22.02.2014 Scotland 22-20 in Rome (6 Nations)
22.06.2013 Scotland 30-29 in Pretoria (Quadrangular Tournament)
09.02.2013 Scotland 34-10 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
17.03.2012 Italy 13-6 in Rome (6 Nations)
20.08.2011 Scotland 23-12 at Murrayfield (World Cup Warm-up)

The last time Italy defeated Scotland was in 2007. Italy won an amazing game 37-17

Italy Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
14.02.2015 v England L 17-47 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v Ireland L 3-26 in Rome (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v South Africa L 6-22 in Padova
14.11.2014 v Argentina L 18-20 in Genoa
08.11.2014 v Samoa W 24-13 in Ascoli Piceno

Scotland Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
14.02.2015 v Wales L 23-26 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
07.02.2015 v France L 8-15 in Paris (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v Tonga W 37-12 at Kilmarnock
15.11.2014 v New Zealand L 16-24 at Murrayfield
08.11.2014 v Argentina W 41-31 at Murrayfield

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Scotland 6th, Italy 8th
Europe Table: Italy 5th, Scotland 6th

IRB Ranking Points
Scotland 77.11, Italy 71.19

Prediction: Scotland by 13 points.

Teams

Scotland
15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Thomas Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alexander Dunbar, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Peter Horne, 9 Greig Laidlaw, (Capt.), 8 John Beattie,
7 Blair Cowan, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Jonnathan Gray, 4 Timothy Swinson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements
16 Fraser Brown, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Geoffrey Cross, 19 Benjamin Toolis,
20 Hamish Watson, 21 Samuel Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Greig Tonks, 23 Matthew Scott.

Head Coach; Vern Cotter

Italy
15 Luke McLean, 14 Michele Visentin, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Enrico Bacchin,
11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements
16 Andrea Manici, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Samuela Vunisa, 21 Guglielmo Palazzini, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Giulio Bisegni.

Head Coach: Jacques Brunel

6 NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

14.02.2015
England 47,Italy 17 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
Ireland 18, France 11 in Dublin (6 Nations)

Briefly
England were too strong for Italy at Twickenham. Italy were competitive early on and throughout the first half. England dominated the second half and preyed upon mistakes made under pressure by Italy.

Ireland had to battle against a fierce French side intent on preserving their good record in Dublin and to show a big improvement from last weekend. This result paves the way for a mouth-watering class between England and Ireland on 1 March.

The next round of Six Nations matches are..
28.02.2015
Italy v Scotland at Murrayfield
Wales v France in Paris

01.03.2015
England v Ireland in Dublin

Wales and Scotland clash tomorrow at Murrayfield.

ITALY V ENGLAND: 6 Nations

14.02.2015

Venue: Twickenham

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

Preview
England are bustling with confidence after their win against Wales last weekend. Coach Lancaster has named an unchanged starting fifteen with some very good players left out. This is the depth of English rugby at present.

Italy on the other hand have lost experienced flanker Zanni and mid-fielder Michele Campagnaro. Without these two Italy is considerably weaker and although the replacements are good players the lack of depth and the problems behind their pack will place Italy on the back foot from the kickoff.

Last Five Encounters
15.03.2014 England 52-11 in Rome (6 Nations)
10.03.2013England 18-11 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
11.02.2012 England 19-15 in Rome (6 Nations)
12.02.2011 England 59-13 at Twickenham (6 Nations)
14.02.2010 England 17-12 in Rome (6 Nations)

Italy has never defeated England in a rugby test match.

Italy Last Five P 5, W 1, L 4
07.02.2015 v Ireland L 3-26 in Rome (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v South Africa L 6-22 in Padova
14.11.2014 v Argentina L 18-20 in Genoa
08.11.2014 v Samoa W 24-13 in Ascoli Piceno
21.06.2014 v Japan L 23-26 in Tokyo

England Last Five P 5, W 2, L 3
06.02.2015 v Wales W 21-16 in Cardiff (6 Nations)
22.11.2014 v Samoa W 28-9 at Twickenham
15.11.2014 v South Africa L 28-31 at Twickenham
08.11.2014 v New Zealand L 21-24 at Twickenham
21.06.2014 v New Zealand L 13-36 at Hamilton

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table- England 2nd, Italy 8th
Europe Table- England 1st, Italy 5th

IRB Ranking Points
England 85.83, Italy 71.19

Prediction: England by 28 points

Teams

Italy
15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Luca Morisi, 12 Andrea Masi,
11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (Capt.), 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements
16 Andrea Manici, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Joshua Furno,
20 Samuela Vunisa, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Giulio Bisegni.

England
15 Michael Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jonathon May, 10 George Ford, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 William Vunipola,
7 Christopher Robshaw, (Capt.) 6 James Haskell, 5 George Kruis, 4 David Attwood, 3 Danial Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joseph Marler.
Replacements
16 Thomas Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Nicholas Easter, 20 Thomas Croft, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Daniel Cipriani,
23 William Twelvetrees.

TEST RUGBY RESULTS: 6 Nations

07.02.2015
Ireland 24, Italy 3 in Rome (6 Nations)
France 15, Scotland 8 in Paris (6 Nations)

Briefly
These two games did not live up to expectations as spectacles, the England-Wales game Friday night being a class above.

Ireland did enough to defeat Italy in Rome in an error-ridden game. France needed 5 penalty goals to defeat Scotland in Paris in another scratchy game

Next Weekend
14.02.2015
Italy v England at Twickenham
France v Ireland in Dublin

15.02.2015
Wales v Scotland at Murrayfield

IRELAND v ITALY: 6 NATIONS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

07.02.2015

Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)

Preview
6 Nations defending champion Ireland gets their campaign underway in Rome. These two teams could not be more poles apart in terms of form at international test rugby. Ireland is riding an almost unprecedented high whereas Italy is struggling as much as ever.

Ireland travel to Rome with an impressive recent record. In the northern autumn internationals they gathered in two Southern Hemisphere scalps in the most impressive of fashion. Firstly South Africa crumbled to a magnificent Ireland 29-15 and then Ireland pipped Australia 26-23. In addition Ireland, with very much a mixed combination of experienced players and rookies, took Georgia apart 49-7, all games at Aviva Stadium. They do have a problem in that a number of crucial top players are missing. Cian Healy, Jamie Heaslip and Jonathan Sexton sit out this one.

Italy on the other hand have rumbled from the indifferent to the hoe-hum in the last six months. They lost away to Fiji, Samoa and Japan in June. They recovered a little in the autumn internationals to defeat Samoa, but then lost to Argentina and South Africa, the later 6-22. Keep in mind that Ireland put South Africa to the sword earlier in November.

Italy has pretty much preserved their highly experienced pack which has struggled to dominate opponents lately. Strangely, at the same time as the pack has begun to lose a little omph their backline has looked positively dangerous at times. Oh dear. Oh for the balance! Do I spot Jacques Brunel losing a little more hair?

Last Five Encounters
08.03.2014 Ireland 46-7 in Dublin (6 Nations)
16.03.2013 Italy 22-15 in Rome (6 Nations)
25.02.2012 Ireland 42-10 in Dublin (6 Nations)
05.02.2011 Ireland 13-11 in Rome (6 Nations)
06.02.2010 Ireland 29-11 in Dublin (6 Nations)

Having  waxed lyrical Ireland’s praises a quick look at the stats and they show something different. Ireland always struggles in Rome. They struggled so much in 2013 that they lost! Oh how did the Italians celebrate! The message is Ireland beware.

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table: Ireland 1st, Italy 8th 
Europe Table: Ireland 2nd, Italy 5th

IRB Ranking Points
Ireland 85.48, Italy 71.19

Prediction: Italy to provide bite in the first half. Their pack giving way to the Irish in the second half but expect some dashing Italian back play.Pardon did I hear you say? Ireland will lack their usual fluency without some top players but will do enough to win.
Ireland, eventually, by 10 points.

Teams

Italy
15 Andrea Masi, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (Capt.), 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 George Biagi, 4 Joshua Furno,
3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements
16 Andrea Manici, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Marco Barbini, 21 Gulgielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti

Head Coach: Jacques Brunel

.
Ireland
15 Robert Kearney, 14 Thomasa Bowe, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robert Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (Capt.), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Michael Ross,
2 Rory Best, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements
16 Sean Cronin, 17 James Cronin, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Iain Henderson,
20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Felix Jones.

Head Coach: Joe Schmidt.

ITALY 6 NATIONS SQUAD

 

Matias AGUERO (Zebre Rugby, 29 caps)
Martin CASTROGIOVANNI (Toulon RC, 107 caps)
Dario CHISTOLINI (Zebre Rugby, 5 caps)
Alberto DE MARCHI (Sale Sharks, 23 caps)

Tallonatori
Leonardo GHIRALDINI (Leicester Tigers, 70 caps)
Andrea MANICI (Zebre Rugby, 6 caps)*

Seconde linee
George Fabio BIAGI (Zebre Rugby, 3 caps)
Marco BORTOLAMI (Zebre Rugby, 110 caps)
Joshua FURNO (Newcastle Falcons, 24 caps)*
Marco FUSER (Benetton Treviso, 2 caps)*

Flanker/n.8
Robert Julian BARBIERI (Leicester Tigers, 38 caps)
Marco BARBINI (Benetton Treviso, esordiente)
Mauro BERGAMASCO (Zebre Rugby, 100 caps)
Simone FAVARO (Benetton Treviso, 23 caps)
Francesco MINTO (Benetton Treviso, 11 caps)
Sergio PARISSE (Stade Francais, 108 caps) - capitano
Alessandro ZANNI (Benetton Treviso, 86 caps)

Mediani di mischia
Edoardo GORI (Benetton Treviso, 37 caps)*
Guglielmo PALAZZANI (Zebre Rugby, 5 caps)
Marcello VIOLI (Cammi Calvisano, esordiente)

Mediani d’apertura
Tommaso ALLAN (USAP Perpignan, 10 caps)
Kelly HAIMONA (Zebre Rugby, 3 caps)

Centri/Ali/Estremi
Giulio BISEGNI (Zebre Rugby, esordiente)
Michele CAMPAGNARO (Benetton Treviso, 12 caps)*
Andrea MASI (London Wasps, 87 caps)
Luke MCLEAN (Sale Sharks, 63 caps)
Luca MORISI (Benetton Treviso, 9 caps)*
Simone RAGUSI (Benetton Treviso, esordiente)
Leonardo SARTO (Zebre, Rugby, 12 caps)*
Giovambattista VENDITTI (Zebre Rugby, 22 caps)*
Michele VISENTIN (Zebre Rugby, esordiente)*

Head coach: Jacques Brunel

*è/è stato membro dell'Accademia FIR "Ivan Francescato"

non considerati per infortunio: Gonzalo CANALE (La Rochelle), Gonzalo GARCIA (Zebre Rugby), Quintin GELDENHUYS (Zebre Rugby), Alberto SGARBI (Benetton Treviso), Samuela VUNISA (Zebre Rugby)

http://www.federugby.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=109&Itemid=424