It was almost inevitable that one national squad would be announced long after the five others. With a Sunday afternoon start, Nanni Raineri had no need to rush things.
Team:
15 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi 14 Aura Muzzo 13 Michela Sillari 12 Beatrice Rigoni 11 Alyssa D’Inca 10 Veronica Madia 9 Sofia Stefan (captain) 1 Gaia Maris 2 Silvia Turani 3 Sara Seye 4 Valeria Fedrighi 5 Sara Tounesi 6 Isabella Locatelli 7 Francesca Sgorbini 8 Giulia Cavina
16 Laura Gurioli 17 Emanuela Stecca 18 Lucia Gai 19 Alessia Pilani 20 Giordana Duca 21 Alessandra Frangipani 22 Emma Stevanin 23 Francesca Granzotto
Lots of familiar names here, but no Elisa Giordano, the long-term captain. Her role is taken as usual by Sofia Stefan. Giulia Cavina has the task of taking over at No 8; she has the physique for the job and will add an option at the line-out; but this will be a real test for her.
Raineri has wisely kept Beatrice Rigoni at No 12; there she can get up to her tricks with less damage to cohesion if things go aglay. At 10, her ploys could all too easily lead to lack of cohesion. A big responsibility rests on Veronica Madia’s shoulders. At her best she can be outstanding, but consistency must be her watchword. If she can find the time and space to get her backs moving, she will have earned her corn.
A burning question is whether the past will bear down on the many players with long Six Nations experience. One asset new players have is the absence of unhappy memories. We have seen in many games over the past few years how outstandingly the Azzurre can play. One problem has been completing moves. The off-loading game can involve high risk, as France have proved.
The unspoken aim is to put on a good show against the No 1 ranked team, then see the other four off the park. Their next stop is Ireland. Last year the Azzurre beat them with some ease (24-7), but we all know why. It will be intriguing to see whether they can repeat the medicine away from home.
A reminder that we will see innovations in place this weekend: stop-clocks, bunkers, all the paraphernalia World Rugby has decided to introduce in an effort to speed the game up and make it fairer. I could offer them a few more possibilities, starting with the formation of the line-out.
The Smart Ball stats provided by Sage will allow us to know who gave the fastest pass, the longest pass, the longest kick; who ran the furthest, who made the most dominating tackles – anything else you’d like to know?
Ah, the results!
Details
Date: Sunday 24 March
Venue: Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
Time: KO 15.00 (UK time); 16.00 (CET time)
UK coverage: from 14.45 BBC Two, iPlayer, BBC Sport website & app
Officials:
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
ARs: Doriane Domenjo (FFR) and Melissa Leboeuf (FFR)
TMO: Chris Assmus (RC)
with thanks to rugbyreferee.net
