Mallett throws youngsters in

Mallett throws youngsters in

27 May 2008

Nick Mallett has been forced to pick an inexperienced Italian squad for their tour of South Africa.

The Azzurri play the Springboks on 21 June at Newlands but club commitments mean that a number of Mallett’s established players will be unable to tour. Italian skipper Sergio Parisse, Gloucester captain Marco Bortolami, Stade Francais teammates and brothers Mauro and Mirco Bergamasco, as well as Clermont centre Gonzalo Canale will all miss out.

Mallett has had to pick three uncapped players – all in the backline – and said this will be a good chance to experiment. Their back division has however been their weak-link and these new players with lack of experience will further rob them of cohesion.

“We have to do without at least eight or nine first choice players who are either injured or still involved with their clubs so we will take advantage of this international window to experiment,” Mallett told the AFP.

Italy :

Forwards – Matias Aguero (Saracens, England), Roberto Barbieri (Treviso), Lorenzo Cittadini (Calvisano), Salvatore Costanzo (Treviso), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Ulster, Ireland), Santiago Dellape (Biarritz, France), Jaco Erasmus (Viadana), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Calvisano), Carlos Nieto (Gloucester, England), Fabio Ongaro (Saracens, England), Tommaso Reato (Rovigo), Josh Sole (Viadana), Alessandro Zanni (Calvisano).

Backs – Pablo Canavosio (Castres, France), Gonzalo Garcia (Calvisano), Andrea Marcato (Treviso), Andrea Masi (Biarritz, France), Luke McLean (Calvisano), Ludovico Maria Nitoglia (Calvisano), Enrico Patrizio (Padova), Riccardo Pavan (Overmach Parma), Simon Picone (Treviso), Matteo Pratichetti (Calvisano), Kaine Robertson (Viadana).


23 Comments

  • 1.eight ball: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 07:37 am

    Mallett Dragon

  • 2.eight ball: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 07:39 am

    What is it with these upcoming tours??? A depleted Italian team is really not worth playing, surely?
    A full strength Italian team would have had a difficult time of it. Looks like the Universe is conspiring to see PDv succeed.

  • 3.King Shark: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 07:41 am

    #2 eight ball: You sound disappointed?!

  • 4.Dawn: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 08:01 am

    Personally, I can’t think of anything better than 15 young inexperienced Italian boys.

    :evil:

  • 5.Snoek: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 08:20 am

    Every year we play these half internationals, we win big, and the get a hiding in the 3N. It’s “dejavu”.

  • 6.THE MAULER: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 08:24 am

    #4 Dawn:
    OK….. :shock:

  • 7.THE MAULER: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 08:27 am

    #5 Snoek:
    You right! The thing that also gets me is that we play England every year away and they only come here every 3 or so years and then all we hear is how good their record against us is. What rubbish. I would like to see Full strength tours. I know there is nothing we can do about injuries but come on.

  • 8.Alicamousa: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:11 am

    The biggest problem is the French season running until the end of June. They only started the season after the World Cup finished, hopefully things will be better in other years.

  • 9.eight ball: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:15 am

    #3 King Shark: Disappointed at the strength of the opposition yes, at PDV doing well – not at all. I am a green blooded bok supporter and would love to see the boks dominate world rugby forever, of course when I wake up it’s a different view.

  • 10.eight ball: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:16 am

    #4 Dawn: All together?

  • 11.JL1: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:31 am

    #7 THE MAULER: Yes spot on, they do like to throw their record against us into our faces, but yet they seldom play away from home

  • 12.Dr Flo: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:38 am

    Talking about youngsters read about ours below. This is oprobably not the right string but maybe Keo and the boys could start a blog on Tag Rugby where we could post articles of this nature.

    Tag makes an impact at Wynberg Boys Junior School

    Last Saturday saw the beginning of what promises to be an exciting season of Tag Rugby for grade 1 boys, when the season kicked off with matches played between four WBJS teams. Nine-a-side matches were played in a hearty spirit which saw the boys revel under slightly muddy conditions. Coaches made up predominantly of fathers, coached and refereed on-field, organising the boys on defence and attack, while encouraging them to support each other. While the rules of Tag Rugby were adhered to, the boys were allowed to make minor errors (e.g., the odd forward pass) to ensure a flowing game that all the boys could enjoy.

    Tag rugby is a non-contact sport introduced to junior level schools to ensure safety while promoting the use of appropriate attacking and defensive lines. Boys wear waist high Velcro belts with two detachable tags on either side. To make a tackle one of the tags has to be ripped by a defensive player. Attacking teams are allowed three tags while taking the ball up. Thereafter possession is handed to the defensive side. Tacklers are required to yell “TAG” while coaches then encourage the ball carrier to pass to a team mate. No contact is allowed and boys may not kick, hurl themselves in the tackle or dive over the try line to score, thereby minimising the likelihood of injury and promoting opportunities for the little guys to get their hands on the ball.

    While the matches were played in the spirit of fun, the boys were highly competitive with plenty of tries being scored and some sublime tags being made. Clearly mistakes were evident but this will improve as the boys learn to pass accurately, organise their attacking and defensive lines, improve communication and come to terms with the non-contact nature of the sport. Spare a thought for Ryan Thompson who dislocated a thumb, we wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back playing Tag shortly. With the exception of this one injury, tag has generally proved to be safer than full contact mini rugby. Boys not participating are encouraged to join up and experience the fun of it all.

  • 13.pepinillo: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:41 am

    Jaco Erasmus sound very Italian no? Italy has many Argentina born players……..plus some Kiwis and this Erasmus…….

  • 14.PlayBall: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:48 am

    Erasmus, Sole, Robertson and McClean are all born and bred in Italia! All are current mafia members!

  • 15.GirlShark: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 09:57 am

    #13 pepinillo: As most of you should know that South Africa has a large Italian immigrant population, a lot of these guys playing in Italy are South African born! The Bergamascos herald from the Transkei if I am not mistaken! Rugby is not big in Italy, infact its hardly watched and then only in a few cities not even nationally televised. Many Italians do not even know that Italy has a rugby team. So they rely a lot on Italians born in the Southern hemisphere to produce their players. Surnames mean nothing, their father could be Erasmus, but their mother Cantone, and they would qualify for Italian citizenship.

  • 16.eight ball: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 10:14 am

    #15 GirlShark: Is the pain easing yet?

  • 17.pepinillo: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 10:27 am

    France greats Spanghero, Sella, Benetton,Califano etc etc had also Italian roots……..

  • 18.GirlShark: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 10:32 am

    #16 eight ball: Slightly! Still very painful! But starting to look forward to the CC, and Tri Nations, cannot get excited about these tours no matter how hard I try!

  • 19.greatest13gerber: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 12:49 pm

    same old same old

    weak *** test teams coming downunder

  • 20.fabio: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 13:32 pm

    Italians to the slaughter..as much as i support the Bokke, this is gonna hurt.

  • 21.leeanthonyw: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 14:59 pm

    I remember the time we played Italy under Mallet 99 and thumped them a 100 odd to nil and everyone thought we were on track for a good Tri-Nations. We then got ours thumped big time.

  • 22.wooden spoon: Reply to this comment
    27 May 2008, 18:35 pm

    What is the point of these southern hemisphere tours. Every year the 6 nations teams come down south with depleted teams due to club commitments. Last year’s England tour to SA was the ultimate low, when they brought along their “C” team. If its not the best 15 vs the best 15 (within reason of course) then these games shouldn’t be given test status. I wouldn’t care if it happened once or twice, but this is becoming a yearly event.

  • 23.GirlShark: Reply to this comment
    28 May 2008, 08:42 am

    #20 fabio: are you Italian by any chance?

Keo.co.za has always promoted uncensored views, but has never tolerated racist or crass outbursts. Come on guys and girls. If you can't moderate yourselves or each other then I am going to be forced to regulate the posts and enforce a registration process for comments. The choice is yours.

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