2011 Rugby World Cup action moves to Nelson tonight, where Italy will be looking for its first win of the tournament as the take on Russia. Join us from the commencement at 5.30pm AEST for live scores of the action as it happens.
The Italians were highly impressive in the first half of their opening match against the Wallabies before falling away to go down 32-6, a scoreline that perhaps flattered the Australians.
Their hopes of reaching the final eight were dealt a hammer blow on Saturday night with Ireland’s victory over the Wallabies, and a dominant victory of an inferior rival in Russia is a must tonight for the Six Nations outfit.
Coach Nick Mallett has swept changes through the entire starting XV, with Sergio Parisse, Andrea Masi and Tommaso Benvenuti the only survivors from the starting lineup against the Wallabies last Sunday.
They face a Russian unit that will have been somewhat satisfied with their 13-6 loss to the more-fancied USA last Thursday, despite the match being riddled with errors after being played in driving rain.
Indeed, they might have nearly pinched a draw at the end with a valiant attacking raid, but regardless of that they’ll take heart from what was a spirited Rugby World Cup debut.
Nikolai Nerush has named a largely unchanged lineup for tonight’s match, although Australian-born lock Adam Byrnes will come into the starting lineup after an impressive performance off the bench last Thursday.
As expected, the Bears’ strength in the USA game was in the forwards but like most eastern-European sides they lacked the adventure and creativity to hurt their opponents through the backs.
The match will be played at Trafalgar Park in Nelson, an historic venue in New Zealand rugby, having hosted the first ever rugby match in New Zealand in 1870.
While Ireland and the Wallabies will almost certainly now finish one-two in this group Nick Mallett will accept nothing less than a victory with bonus point tonight.
Russia will be expected to try and overcome Italy up front and if they can get on top this one might be closer than their European counterparts are anticipating.
The trademark of this tournament has been the unexpected performances of the less-fancied sides and there is no reason for that to stop tonight. As always, we’ll have live scores of all of the action, so be sure to join us at 5.30pm AEST as the game unfolds.
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