Pre-match meals, Italian style...
Italy have pulled out all the tricks for this one, from racking up an 80,000-strong partisan crowd to seducing the opposition with supermodels.
Ma'a Nonu, Anthony Boric, Mils Muliaina and Andrew Hore appeared all over the press on Thursday, being fed all manner of fishy goodies by glamorous Italian temptresses. A boon for them, and none of the sirens were called Susie, but apparently there was a stormy team selection meeting at the team hotel on Thursday morning. Not, we hasten to add, about the selection for Saturday's match.
But it's that kind of thing that has marked the All Blacks' visit to the Azzurri ever since the soccer clubs of Milan very graciously made the magnificent San Siro available to the FIR for this match. It's been glamour all the way, with the tourists welcomed like film stars. Soccer remains number one in Italy, but rugby is well and truly having its hour this week - even if the Azzurri players themselves have not quite been under the glare of the spotlight.
Would it were that Italy had a team that looked capable of creating something for the locals to really go bananas about. Not that it's a bad team as such, but New Zealand have palpably not lost their aura, as Wales claimed, and with so many players in New Zealand's side out to prove points Italy could have a long day at the office.
It's not going to be like the match in the June Tests, where the All Blacks looked laboured as they lurched to a 27-6 win against an heroic Italian defensive performance - apparently inspired by a stirring half-time team talk from Salvatore Perugini. New Zealand are a Tri-Nations campaign more cohesive now, more united and better organised. New caps are coming in and taking their places in an obvious structure. The rewards of this year's magnificent Air New Zealand Cup are becoming manifest.
Italy must continue to mould fly-half Craig Gower, who also played a significant role in Italy's impressive June displays. It will be interesting to see how his partnership with scrum-half Tito Tebaldi, who played excellently in only his second Test against the All Blacks in June, develops. Gower is apparently struggling far more with his Italian than his rugby and is booming confidence, but for the quieter and greener scrum-half Tebaldi, his perceived form can change quickly against the best in the world.
That said, the Italian weapon of choice will surely be the scrum and the rolling maul, combined with the occasional towering kick to move the whole fleshy mass a few metres forward and the baying of the 80,000 souls who will make this Italian rugby's biggest-ever occasion being used for the necessary adrenaline. The return of Martin Castrogiovanni is a significant boost to this end, as is that of Carlo del Fava.
For Italy it will be about how much pressure they can put on the opposition. For the All Blacks, about whether they can open the game up.
Gower has to be good with the kicks and the chasers - forwards or otherwise - have to be deadly and accurate. People call this a second-string New Zealand side, but that's still better than most first teams. Just because Ben Smith is yet to make a clean break in an All Black jersey, does not mean he will punish loose kicks just as lethally as he did for Otago in the Air New Zealand Cup. Just because Mike Delany is stuck behind Stephen Donald at the Chiefs, doesn't mean he is not a livewire and unpredictable number ten. This is a team that can cut Italy to ribbons given a chance and given the space.
All over this supposed second-string team are players who could easily slot into the first team. New Zealand looked weak after the exodus of 2007, but with their domestic rugby light years ahead of other countries, the strength in depth is building once again. On Saturday, we'll see how deep that currently goes.
Ones to watch:
For Italy: Tito Tebaldi continues to plug the scrum-half gap which so yawned in Italy's team a year or so ago that Nick Mallett placed a flanker there to fill it. The 26-year-old has enough time and talent to be Italy's main man heading into the 2011 World Cup, but only if he can build on the promise he showed in June.
For New Zealand: All the talk has been about the debut handed to Mike Delany this week, which seems a little hard on Ben Smith. Smith was devastating at times in the Air New Zealand Cup and is versatile in the back three - his attacking lines from full-back are sumptuous. Question marks linger over defence, as they always do when someone is so lauded for their attacking capabilities but the 23-year-old has a bright future ahead of him if he can prove himself.
Head to head: Sergio Parisse v Rodney So'oialo. Lots of talk of youngsters, bright futures and burgeoning partnerships thus far, but how about this for a classic clash? Parisse must have been nominated for every award going over the past two years as he continues to be Italy's heart and soul, while So'oialo is an ever-present for the All Blacks; both are peerless in their sides. They have different games: So'oialo provides line-out options, ball-carrying solidity and ceaseless endeavour, while Parisse polishes that up with sparks of mad genius. Both so vital to their sides, it's a good contrast of players in the same position to watch.
Recent results:
1987: New Zealand won 70-6 in Auckland
1991: New Zealand won 31-21 in Leicester
1995: New Zealand won 70-6 in Bologna
1999: New Zealand won 101-3 in Huddersfield
2000: New Zealand won 56-19 in Genova
2002: New Zealand won 64-10 in Hamilton
2003: New Zealand won 70-7 in Melbourne
2004: New Zealand won 59-10 in Rome
2007: New Zealand won 76-14 in Marseille
2009: New Zealand won 27-6 in Christchurch
Prediction: Difficult not to see New Zealand cutting loose here after last week's confidence-boosting win and with so many new players proving points. New Zealand by 25.
The teams:
Italy: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replpacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Ignacio Rouyet, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Simon Picone, 21 Kristopher Burton, 22 Alberto Sgarbi
New Zealand: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Tamati Ellison, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Anthony Boric, 4 Tom Donnelly, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Richie McCaw, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Mils Muliaina.
Date:Saturday, October 14
Venue:San Siro, MilanKick-off: 15.00 (14.00 GMT)
Weather: Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assistant referees: Alain Rolland (Ireland), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match officials: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Assessor: Michel Lamoulie (France)
By Richard Anderson
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