Rugby: Parisse wants ‘historic’ win over Wallabies
(By Denis Greenan).
(ANSA) – Turin, November 6 – Italy captain Sergio Parisse said Wednesday he wants a “historic” victory over Australia in the first of Italy’s November tests in Turin Saturday.
“We think we can beat them,” said Parisse, one of the stars when Italy narrowly missed out on a draw last year in Florence in its best-ever result against the Wallabies.
“We have the ability to win, but you never know with the Aussies – we might also end up with them running 40 or 50 points past us, with the attack they have,” Parisse said at a press conference for the Saturday showdown at Turin’s Olympic Stadium, where soccer giants Juventus used to play.
“So Saturday we are well aware we’ll have to come up with 80 minutes of great rugby to keep the scores close right up to the end and hopefully achieve what would obviously be a historic victory”.
Jacques Brunel, the French coach who has added attacking flair to Italy’s traditional scrummaging, mauling and rucking strengths since taking over from Nick Mallett two years ago, is already looking forward to the 2015 World Cup.
“We’re two years away from the world championship. Thus far we’ve had an interesting journey but we still have to raise our levels.
“The November series, against the Wallabies, Fiji and Argentina, will be an important stage in the development of our project,” said the former Perpignan tactician.
Italy will face Ireland and France in the group stage of the 2015 World Cup.
“It will be hard against France and Ireland but we’ve beaten them in the past,” Parisse noted.
Italy have taken part in each Rugby World Cup since the first one was held in 1987 but they have never gone through to the knockout stage of the competition.
“We’ll have the same goal to qualify for the quarter-finals,” said Parisse.
“We’re on the right track”.
The buzz around Italian rugby is the loudest it has been for years and the Turin game against the southern hemisphere titans has attracted a sell-out 27,000 crowd.
Confidence is high in the Azzurri camp after their most successful Six Nations ever with wins over France and, for the first time ever in the tournament they joined in 2000, over Ireland.
They also registered two wins in 2007 – against Scotland and Wales – but Parisse insisted the quality of opposition they mastered this year sets 2013 apart.
“You can’t compare this Six Nations with 2007 because we have secured wins against two squads with a lot of history, two of the strongest in the world,” the Italy captain said after the rousing 22-15 win against the Irish at the Stadio Olimpico on March 16.
“We’re a squad that’s improving. We play France and Ireland in the group stage of the 2015 World Cup and we have sent a strong message to them,” Parisse said.
The impressive Six Nations campaign came off the back of a strong showing in the November tests a year ago. The Azzurri secured a 28-23 win over Tonga, caused the All Blacks lots of problems for three-quarters of a 42-10 defeat in Rome – a scoreline that flattered the world champions – and gave Australia a huge scare before going down 22-19 in Florence.
The other tests this month are against Fiji in Cremona on November 16 and Argentina in Rome on November 23, where Parisse and the clutch of other veteran Argentine-born men in the Italy shirt hope their countryman Pope Francis may attend.