The final 31-man squads are in and we’re only weeks away from the World Cup kicking off, but not before one final showdown at the Millennium Stadium for Wales and Italy. There were ten tries the last time these two sides met – a 61-20 Welsh victory on that pulsating ‘Super Saturday’ in this year’s Six Nations – and with both sides looking to hit the ground running in their respective pools, there could be a fair few tries in Cardiff on Saturday.
WALES
Five changes to the side that beat Ireland last weekend; Sam Warburton comes back from injury to captain the side in a back row also including James King. Jake Ball and Dominic Day are in for Bradley Davies and Alun-Wyn Jones respectively, and Cory Allen earns his third Welsh cap in the centre. Somewhat surprisingly, Warren Gatland names hooker Kristian Dacey and flanker Ross Moriarty on the bench, despite neither player making the final World Cup squad.
The front row remains unchanged after performing well against Ireland, and at the back of the scrum Taulupe Faletau is at number eight for the 19th consecutive game. The Ospreys half-back pairing of Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar is given the nod inside Scott Williams in his preferred position of 12. The back three of George North, Alex Cuthbert and Leigh Halfpenny is unchanged.
The bench features Paul James, Aaron Jarvis and Luke Charteris, alongside Gareth Davies, Rhys Priestland and Matthew Morgan. Omissions from the side include last week’s standout performer Justin Tipuric, as well as Dan Lydiate and Jamie Roberts.
One to watch: Matthew Morgan
Perhaps one of the only surprises in the final Welsh squad announcement was the inclusion of Matthew Morgan, or ‘nipper’, given his style of play and relative inexperience at international level.
Morgan offers something different to the colossal artillery in the rest of Wales’ back line; his lightening pace is unrivalled and at only 5 ft 8, Morgan is tiny by modern standards. It would have been great to see him start this game, but Halfpenny’s defensive cover and excellent goalkicking is perhaps the deciding factor for the Welsh management. Still, Morgan is a quality player to have on the bench for when the game opens up in the latter stages.
ITALY
Italy’s last outing was an absolute pumping by Scotland at Murrayfield, but given they threw three intercept passes as they tried to chase the game, the scoreline was perhaps a touch unfair on the Azzurri – although you could argue their problems were of their own making.
They have, however, recalled several of their biggest names this weekend. Sergio Parisse returns to the number eight shirt and captain’s armband, which always seem to lift the level of performance by about 50%. Andrea Masi is another familiar face to return, filling in at fullback, while Edoardo Gori brings experience to the number nine shirt.
It has been a disastrous campaign for the Azzurri so far, and where many were tipping them to potentially cause France and maybe even Ireland some problems in Pool D of the World Cup, they now look like fodder. A stronger performance this weekend can change that, but up against a fired up Wales they must at the very least ensure they leave the pitch with their heads held high.
One to watch: Luca Morisi
Morisi was one of the stars of the Six Nations, but is yet to recreate that form this summer. England fans will recall the blinder of a try he scored at Twickenham in the Six Nations, a rare moment of joy for the Italians on what was otherwise a torrid afternoon for them. He has pace and power, and opposite a relative novice in Cory Allen, he will look to exploit any defensive misalignments.
PREDICTION
Wales’ win over Ireland last weekend was hugely impressive, beating the form team in the Northern Hemisphere in their own back yard. They must now, however, continue that momentum against an Italy side that Scotland made to look like whipping boys last weekend. They have several individuals with points to prove to Gatland and the selectors, not least captain Sam Warburton, but they must ensure that they still play as a team and get the job done. Italy will be a sterner proposition with several of their bigger names recalled, but realistically this is a game that Wales must be targeting to win, and win well. Given what happened last time the two sides met, it is more than likely to be the case. Wales by 18.
By Jack Hoare (@jackhoare) and Jamie Hosie (@jhosie43)
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I hope that is a low ball estimation, no insult intended to Italy but they aren’t exactly of the same calibre, Wales need to look to run up a score, it’s no use winning by 1 or 2 points they need to get the wings moving get both Cuthbert & North in the try scoring swing, give some of the bench a run on so we can get everyone fully match fit to hit the world cup running.
First world cup game against Uruguay is one we need a huge score so this game seems like the ideal opportunity to practise getting that ball into space and converting opportunities. 30+ wales (hoping for more obviously)
18 pts seems a little insulting really. There again 6 pt Imperialist Elitist win is predicted v Ireland
Hopefully C+ntbutt will break his leg and this will rule him out for the next few weeks???