Kirwan keeps the faith
Italy coach John Kirwan still has complete faith in his side, despite seeing them suffer consecutive home defeats at the start of the RBS 6 Nations.
The Azzurri impressed in their opening match against Ireland before losing 28-17 but found the going much tougher in their second outing on Saturday, where they were swept aside 38-8 by Wales.
That has left Italy with a mountain to climb if they are to avoid being saddled with the wooden spoon, but Kirwan has no intention of making drastic changes for the three remaining matches against Scotland, England and France.
“I believe we played well in the first half (on Saturday), giving very little to the Welsh team,” Kirwan said.
“But in the second half the Welsh got away easily, helped by our mistakes.
“But I’m still very confident of my team, I still believe in my players 100% and we will go to Scotland to win the game.”
Italy’s next match is against the Scots at Murrayfield on February 26 and, on paper, represents the Azzurri’s best hope of picking up a victory in the tournament.
“We have time to prepare for this game and hopefully recharge our batteries,” the former New Zealand international added.
“I believe the Welsh are a great team, who are well organised with powerful backs. They never give up and while in wonderful form will be very hard to beat. But also our display against the Irish was great and if we can repeat this a win can be achieved.”
The Italy coach also had a word of warning to anybody writing off reigning world champions England, who, like Italy, have started their campaign with back-to-back defeats.
He said: “I think the English are still a strong team and not in decline. They lost by two points in Cardiff and by just one against the French, I’m sure they will be back to their best soon.”
Away from the pitch, Kirwan will be hoping for a favourable ruling for number eight Sergio Parisse, who faces a disciplinary committee on Wednesday after being cited by the independent match commissioner following his clash with Wales fly-half Stephen Jones during Saturday’s match.
Parisse has been cited under law 10.4, which states a player must not “stamp or trample” on an opponent.
Kirwan said: “This Wednesday I have to go to the disciplinary committee with Sergio Parisse to discuss his case. I have already spoken to Sergio and I have also analysed the video and to be honest it does not appear that bad, but we have to wait and see.”
