Italy vs New Zealand

11/10/2003 

Telstra Dome (roof closed)

Melbourne

14:30 AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time)

Referee – Andrew Cole (Australia)

Half time – 0 / 25

Full time – 7 / 70

 Hello again. It is your friend John-Paul. I have become relaxed – we have played the All Blacks and the world it continues!

The Azzurri score a try against the mighty All Blacks. I am very happy!

Ok… we get beaten. Very badly. But I am not disappointed. It was expected that we would lose. We had hoped not by this much, but we cannot change it.

At least the only damage to us was to our noses. We managed to injure one All Black, and the All Blacks managed to injure two more of theirselves.

Two of these things are not surprising:

You have seen our noses I think - they are large, they get damaged

Any team that has the “cross over” moves - will have people colliding.

What did shock me is the goal kicking by the All Blacks. The second kicker, he was very good, even from the sideline he was ok. But the first kicker, Carlos Spencer, is he your best?

(But that is not fair of me. I am sure that he is usually better, or else he would not be the 1^st kicker for the All Blacks.)

We did not get many chances to kick. Only one conversion kick - the penalties where many kicked for the 5 metre lineout. The Azzurri were always attempting for the tries.

I am sure you can understand this: we had one try, we wanted more!

I must congratulate our number 8 Matthew Phillips for the try. It was very difficult, especially when carrying the All Black Justin Marshall as well.

The Azzurri had been close and held up each time. I don’t understand this rule, but I think that it is very nice that we get a 5 metre scrum if we don’t score a try!

So many times I thought the try would come. And then it did, a bit by surprise.

Now this is a strange thing about the game. Matthew Phillips is a good player for the Azzurri, but do you realise that 12 tries were scored in the game, all by New Zealanders!

Gert Preen scored our conversion kick, he is from South Africa!

Did I let this bother me at the time, as I run a lap of honour around the café table?

NO I DID NOT !!!!

So our successes are modest, but I will list more of them:

We won the lineout from the New Zealand throw.

We tackled very hard.

We got tackled back very hard and didn’t break!

We defend well for 1^st half.

We played well under the high kick.

We control our discipline very well.

Your half-back Justin Marshall, he did not react so well when a Azzurri slap him. I was thinking that he looked more Italian than we did!

So I am still happy.

I have one complaint; it is about the Azzurri games all played in 14 days! Azzurri finish their games on the Saturday October 25^th. The final game of the pool D is on the Sunday November 2^nd!

This is a concern for the Azzurri, but what about the supporters? The games are Friday, Tuesday, Monday, Friday mornings. How can we work and watch the games as well?

Momma Mia…