Bella Rugby?

Calvisano lineout
By Chris Chaplin
October 20 2004

After last Saturday’s “knock-down/drag-out” match at The Stoop I for one am hoping for some attractive rugby next Saturday. Let’s hope the weathermen oblige and that Tigers and their Italian visitors enter into the spirit of the occasion!

This first round of the European Cup sees Tigers meet up with Calvisano who took a bit of a 39-6 whopping from a significantly below strength Gloucester in a pre-season fixture at Kingsholm when they managed to slot just two penalties against the West Country side and are seen as the group’s whipping boys but I wonder if it will be that easy?

Having struggled from my sick bed I sat in the East Stand at The Stoop last Saturday to watch a real old time Tigers performance as they ground out a win in dreadful conditions against opponents who didn’t, in truth, ever look like winning but fought for their Premiership life like dying men and frustrated Tigers understandably scant ambition of the day. Just before the match a Quins’ supporter told me that they were pretty much resigned to losing and that the best they were hoping for was some fight from their team and some respect in defeat. He went away pleased!

The Tigers’ pack again dominated proceedings especially in the second half and particularly after Rowntree joined the fray to replace Darren Morris who’d put in a solid performance.

Andy Goode did well in open play, although he looked like a player who hadn’t played for nigh on a month, and his kicking, especially when from long range in increasingly difficult conditions, made me wonder if he was still understandably nervous at aggravating his ligament injury which has healed with remarkable speed.

For all that Tigers remained top of the Premiership at the end of a Saturday when all the teams playing away from home were victorious.

Over in Italy, Calvisano are amongst the front runners in the domestic Super 10 league and not a team to under estimate although they have suffered a dip in form of late having lost to Parma and Treviso in the last couple of weeks having previously posted five straight wins on the bounce.

Skipper Giampiero De Carli, who has not only represented his country at full and A level but, as many will recall, also spent time at Stade Francais, has latterly been propping (he is also a hooker of some renown) with young Academy player Intoppa getting the #2 shirt and Argentinian international Martin Castrogiovanni completing a front row with plenty of top flight international experience and likely to be stern test in the opening stages at least.

Tigers’ front row has of course been going very well and it remains to be seen how the draconian and incomprehensible ban placed on Chuter will affect their performance over the next six weeks. James Buckland has been waiting for a consistent starting opportunity to show what he can do since returning from injury and a spell in New Zealand and it seems that he’ll now get the chance to strut his stuff.

Even with this setback I can’t see the Calvisano trio getting the better of things at Welford Road after the initial fire of competition has settled and once again Tigers should be able to have a good platform.

The Calvisano pack has a southern hemisphere influence with Australian Under 21 lock Justin Purll likely to be featuring and possibly joining converted flanker young Roberto Mandelli, although if fit I’d expect to see Italian international lock Luca Mastrodomenico get the nod ahead of his less experienced colleague.

Though with Ben Kay getting back to his ball stealing and feisty best the odds are for some decent pickings at the set piece although the Calvisano locks are bound to go well with ball in hand, so this could be an area to watch in open play as they target the Tigers’ half-backs.

Open side Andrea DeRossi who joined Calvisano from Livorno in the close season also has international experience having been capped twelve times by his country and is an aggressive ball winner at the breakdown so he’ll be locking horns with Backy.

Club Vice Captain and #8, New Zealand Maori Chris Mayerhofler, is the brother of ex All Black Mark who, until this season’s injury, provided the cement in Newcastle Falcons’ back play. It seems likely that Chris Mayerhofler’s experience will be called into play ahead of that of either Scotuzzi or Zaffiri who are both utility players also being able to play at lock.

The Calvisano trio will doubtless be quick around the park and it would perhaps have been a good time to field Tigers’ first choice back row combination of Moody, Back and Corry, however with Corry now banned for two weeks before being miraculously freed to be available for the Autumn internationals I expect to see Will Johnson at #8 as the trio will need to get some match time before they meet the very high class back-row of Biarritz a week later.

Even with these enforced changes I still believe that Tigers will field an eight with which the Italians will not be able to cope, although I expect to see the Italians come steaming out of the blocks as they did at Kingsholm back in the Summer before fading as the game wore on.

Most will know Paul Griffen, the ex Canterbury dreadlocked New Zealander with his socks down around his ankles, who moved to Calvisano from Napoli for this year, he being something of a long distance commuter. Classy and very sharp around the breakdown and the set piece Harry Ellis will need to keep a keen eye on the talented Kiwi but with the Tigers’ pack likely to going well and Harry keen to again parade his international credentials on a big stage he should give Andy Goode plenty of opportunities to get the Tigers’ back line moving.

Goode showed some nice touches against Quins but needed the run out to get confidence that his leg really was in match order and he will be facing Irish international Shane Horgan’s cousin Gerard Fraser who has also played in Ireland for First Division Clontarf and joins with Griffen in a highly effective antipodean half back pairing.

Also ex Canterbury, Fraser is highly rated in Italy and will be in Goode’s face from the outset he is also capable of kicking points from all over the park so Tigers will need to be acutely aware of their discipline if Fraser is not to punish them.

Of course Tigers have some serious issues to address at centre unless Daryl Gibson is, as widely believed, at last fit and even if he is Rabeni will need to forgo his much trumpeted need for R&R and carry on in the #13 jersey where he will likely meet the Italian international and equally robust Cristian Zanoletti who will then join in an all international centre partnership with sixteen time capped Raineri who has become something of a lynchpin in the national team.

This is the one area where I have real concerns for Tigers with Ollie Smith sidelined and Lloyd still on the injury list as he recovers from knee surgery, for if Gibson remains unavailable Tigers will be obliged to play either Hipkiss, who himself was injured in the development game against Sale, or have somebody else who has been registered for the knock-out stages of the competition playing out of position. Now I have no problems with Dan Hipkiss but this is a very experienced and accomplished Italian centre combination and not to be trifled with.

However if the centre partnership is to be Gibson and Rabeni then it could be an interesting area to watch with the Tigers’ pair likely to cause their opposite numbers some problems with the uncompromising nature of their play.

Out on the wings for Calvisano will probably be sometime centre Fijian international Apensia Vodo who, having been capped three times for Fiji and now 34, is not in the first flush of youth but will still be a real handful, not unlike a certain Fijian of our own recent acquaintance so John Holtby can look forward to a bone crunching afternoon if the South Sea Islander gets up a head of steam. As we also know South Sea Islanders are not the most orthodox tacklers in the world and with Holtby’s strength this could be an area of profitable attack as he may well be able to burst through Vodo’s tackle.

On the other flank most likely Argentinian international Emilano Muilerio, another strong running winger, although not possessed of great subtlety he will try to run through rather than around defenders and this will require all of Healey’s tackling talents if he is at last restored after his late withdrawal against Quins otherwise it’ll be Geordan on the wing and Vesty at full back again. The last line of defence for Calvisano is probably going to be 52 time capped Paolo Vaccari who suffered a spate of injuries last term but is now restored to the undoubted relief of coach Gilbert Doucet.

Vaccari is an exceptionally dangerous counter attacking player and will relish any ball on to which he can run much as does Murphy both players being capable of bringing their back-line colleagues into play in good attacking positions from the first strike attack.

Rabbits? Whipping Boys? Cannon Fodder? Hmmmm? Let’s hope that Tigers do not go into Saturday’s fixture with such thoughts anywhere in their minds. Forget the pre-season against the Cherry and Whites this is a side with a very talented back division the question is will their half backs get the chance to bring them into play against what could be a “make do a mend” Tigers set up.

It’s perhaps worth looking at what happened to Calvisano in last year’s competition when they failed to win a single match, (indeed they have only ever secured one victory all in their time in the competition and that was against Beziers in January 2003) they nevertheless scored five tries against the eventual Champions when Wasps visited Italy during last year’s competition and triumphed 52-33.

Similarly when USAP, with their panoply of stars, took on Calvisano on Italian turf they only squeaked through 11 – 17. The now sadly defunct Celtic Warriors prevailing, when they travelled, by an even smaller margin of 28-26.

Calvisano didn’t travel well themselves and lost 46-13 at The Causeway Stadium when Wasps scored seven tries and then got an even fiercer drubbing down in the South West of France when USAP trounced them 48-7 with just Celtic Warriors making heavier weather of things in beating them 34-25.

Clearly Calvisano are no mugs when in their own backyard so Tigers’ home advantage must be fully exploited come Saturday.

Boring though it is the answer will be in the pack and here I can’t imagine the Calvisano tight five being able to resist the elemental force of the Tigers’ unit for long in what look likely to be distinctly un-Italian weather conditions and so for me (and for Tigers) it has to be a winning start to the European campaign of 2004/5.

It is unfortunate in some ways that Tigers start with what may be seen as their “banker” fixture as they will be setting a bench mark for their English and French competitors to aim for so they need to make it a win and a big one.

A starting victory for Tigers then and it needs to be a convincing win at that for the Group is tight with, aside from Calvisano perhaps, the fixtures likely to go with home advantage.

In this scenario tries scored and then points difference will come into play and the respective performances of Wasps, Biarritz and Tigers during their encounters with the Italians could, in the end, prove pivotal in deciding who will qualify from Group One.