Prodi pats Azzurri backs

| Fri, 03/16/2007 - 07:23

Premier Romano Prodi met the Italian rugby team Thursday to congratulate the Azzurri on their best ever Six Nations campaign and wish them luck for Saturday's clash with Ireland.

Italy have made history this year by winning two games in a single season for the first time since joining the competition in 2000 - a 23-20 victory over Wales here Saturday and a 17-37 triumph in Scotland three weeks ago.

The latter was the Azzurri's first Six Nations win away from home.

The two victories have taken the Azzurri up to eighth in the International Rugby Board ranking - heights never scaled before.

"I dearly wanted to thank you for what you are doing," Prodi told the players at the premier's office, Palazzo Chigi. "Now you have to keep it up".

Prodi also praised the way rugby players in general, and the Azzurri in particular, approach the game.

"I admire your spirit. I like the sporting nature of rugby, which I have followed since I was a student in Parma.

"There is applause between giants at the end of the match. You promote true values".

The Azzurri's success has prompted the Italian media to compare rugby with the troubled world of Italian football a great deal recently.

Rugby players rarely argue with referees over decisions and crowd trouble at rugby matches is unheard of.

Serie A, on the other hand, is still coming to terms with the death of a policeman in rioting at a top-flight match last month and the Calciopoli referee-rigging scandal.

"The team spirit and fair play of this sport are badly needed in other areas," Prodi added.

The premier said he was not sure if he could come to the Ireland clash, but promised to see an Azzurri game at the World Cup in France later this year.

Around 18,000 Irish fans are expected to come to Rome for the game on Saturday - St. Patrick's day - when their side could be crowned Six Nations champions for the first time since 1985.

Ireland are second in the table, trailing France on points scored.

They will be looking to beat Italy by a big margin in order to leapfrog the French, who are expected to defeat Scotland later in the afternoon.

But the Azzurri also go into the game with a chance of winning the tournament outright, if England and France lose to Wales and Scotland respectively - albeit a highly remote one.

Azzurri coach Pierre Berbizier has been forced to make three changes to his starting line-up.

Centre Gonzalo Canale is out with a leg injury, prop Andrea Lo Cicero has a fever and flanker-cum-utility-back Mauro Bergamasco has been suspended for punching Wales's captain Stephen Jones in last weekend's game.

Bergamasco scored the 77th-minute match-winning try against Wales after switching from flanker to centre when Canale hurt his left thigh.

Ezio Galon comes in for Canale, Maurizio Zaffiri takes Bergamasco's place at open-side flanker and Salvatore Perugini gets the nod in the front row.

"Ireland are coming here to win the Six Nations and we have a lot of people missing with suspensions and injuries, but we'll give our all as always" said Azzurri captain Marco Bortolami.

"We have not finished yet. We want to give more joy to the Italian people".

Italy have won three of their 13 previous games against Ireland, but they have never beaten them in the Six Nations.

Here is the Azzurri team for Saturday's match at Rome's Stadio Flaminio:

15 Roland DE MARIGNY (Cammi Calvisano, 13 caps)

14 Kaine ROBERTSON (Arix Viadana, 18 caps)

13 Ezio GALON (Overmach Cariparma, 7 caps)

12 Mirco BERGAMASCO (Stade Francais, 41 caps)

11 Matteo PRATICHETTI (Cammi Calvisano, 3 caps)

10 Ramiro PEZ (Bayonne, 36 caps)

9 Alessandro TRONCON (Clermont Auvergne, 94 caps)

8 Sergio PARISSE (Stade Francais, 41 caps)

7 Maurizio ZAFFIRI (Cammi Calvisano, 13 caps)