At OL Park,
“They destroyed us. It was training for them. We won 33% of our scrums and 50% of our touches. As soon as we had the ball, we gave them the ball back, we gave them a few tries or we conceded a penalty. It’s possible that we won’t even rewatch this match because we have to throw it in the trash. » We could not count on the New Zealand coach of Italy, Kieran Crowley, to soften the immense beating suffered by the Azzurri, Friday at Parc OL, against the unplayable All Blacks (17-96). But how exactly could this Italian selection have been reduced to pulp like this, in the wake of two improved successes against Namibia (52-8) and Uruguay (38-17) during this World Cup? world of rugby?
“We were full of confidence before this match and we did not enter the field to avoid taking a beating but to win,” reveals the new LOU Rugby scrum half (and Gers native) Martin Page-Relo. Our ambition was to contain them and make them doubt for twenty minutes. Except that we took a try in the 6th minute of play. We then got holed too easily but we came across the All Blacks perhaps a little upset with their start to the World Cup. They arrived with their pride to mark world rugby. »And to torture Michele Lamaro’s partners in all areas.
“They hit us with heavy blows with sledgehammers”
“We learned a real lesson,” admits the transalpine captain. Devoured by New Zealand mauls concluded in complete peace on three occasions in the first act alone, thrown on the N346 which runs alongside the usual Olympique Lyonnais stadium almost on each scrum, the Italians found a way to concede five tries in just 17 minutes, from the 17th to the 34th. “They hit us with heavy blows with a sledgehammer,” says third row Sebastian Negri on this subject. A symbolic image of the 15 classes of difference which separated the two teams on Friday, supposed to battle in front of more than 57,000 spectators in a real round of 16 of the World Cup.
Instead, Italy exploded more against these All Blacks than modest Namibia (14 tries conceded against 11, -79 against -68 in the end), recalling the painful memory of a historic 3-101 against the same ogre New Zealand during the 1999 World Cup. We are talking to you about a time when the VI Nations Tournament did not yet exist… “It is because we have since reached a certain level that this New Zealand- there had a very great match this evening, believes Toulouse Ange Capuozzo, author of one of the two (nice) transalpine tries of the evening. They took us seriously, it’s a form of respect on their part. We didn’t expect to have such a gap but I can assure you that we came up against a very strong team. »
“It hurts our heads but we know what we are worth”
Certainly, but after what we (not) saw on Friday, the French XV can already officially look forward to their quarter-final on October 15 against South Africa, right? “I don’t know what the mentality of the French players will be in view of our match next Friday,” says fly-half Tommaso Allan. Maybe they’ll be less suspicious of us after this result. » It would be human to relax a little, as the cataclysmic performance of the Italians is clearly closer to the level of Portugal, Georgia and Romania than to that of a credible outsider of the Six Nations.
“When you concede 96 points, even if it’s against the All Blacks, it’s certain that your confidence takes a hit. It hurts my head. But we know what we are worth, and I have no doubt that we will recover very quickly,” warns Martin Page-Relo. To the point of really considering this France-Italy, once again scheduled at Parc OL de Décines, as a second round of 16 that could lead to the resounding elimination of the host country?
We know the French much better, we have played them much more than the All Blacks, recalls Tommaso Allan. There is not much to remember from this evening, nothing happened. Everyone is a little depressed tonight but we are a strong group and we will give everything because we are convinced that we still have a real chance of qualifying. »
“One bad game doesn’t make you a bad team”
After a day off “to clear their heads” with families this Saturday, Kieran Crowley’s men will return to training at Bourgoin-Jallieu on Sunday. “We have to move on quickly to get back up as quickly as possible and beat the French next week,” urges Martin Page-Relo. We are young but we all have strong character. So we will definitely give an answer. » Determined, far from his groggy face during the carnage against the All Blacks, Ange Capuozzo says coldly: “We knew we had two chances to qualify. One has passed but there is still the second.”
After having cut up his group, Kieran Crowley still began to (try to) raise everyone’s morale: “One bad match does not make you a bad team”. He still knows that his selection has not beaten the XV of France for ten years and a match of the Six Nations Tournament in Rome (23-18 in February 2013). But after all, it almost sounds like a recent reference encouraging optimism, compared to the current 0/16 against New Zealand.