Italy back rower Sebastian Negri wary of dangerous Uruguay
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Italy flanker Sebastian Negri (centre) said Uruguay was a very aggressive team with great passion.
PHOTO: AFP
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NICE – Italy have one win under their belts after their 52-8 triumph over Namibia
Uruguay denied the Rugby World Cup hosts a bonus point when they went down bravely last Thursday in Lille,
“I saw a very aggressive team with great passion. They fought furiously for every ball and proved to be competitive from a physical point of view,” Negri said in an interview with the Italian Rugby Federation on Sunday.
“It will be a difficult match, as indeed every Test match is, especially at a World Cup, but against Uruguay it will need a good performance from everyone to be able to win. They are a very dangerous team.”
The 29-year-old is also aware just where the main danger lies.
“We saw on Thursday what Uruguay did against France, battling for every ball and they put you in difficulty physically, and against a team like that the breakdown becomes very important.”
Italy’s Welsh-born scrum-half Stephen Varney said he was impressed with the Uruguayans in their France defeat.
“Uruguay played really well. They’re a physical side and they like to play from anywhere, a bit like us,” Gloucester half-back Varney told AFP.
“We know what to expect from them and hopefully it will be a good physical match.”
The two sides met in Parma in 2021, with Uruguay leading two thirds of the way through the match, before Italy rallied late on to win 17-10. But Italy defence coach Marius Goosen said Uruguay have improved markedly since then.
“They are a fully professional team now. We’ve been tracking them since we knew we would play them in a World Cup,” he said.
“The investment money-wise and resources that they’ve had in the last three years are massive and you can see that in their results and the way they play.”
Goosen expects that Italy will face a team playing in their own personal World Cup final.
“This is their World Cup (final) game. They’re not the lesser team (in the group). But if you look at Namibia, Chile and all those (underdog) teams who, when they play the so-called third-ranked team in the group, that’s their World Cup (final),” the South African told AFP at the Italy training camp in Bourgoin-Jallieu in eastern France.
“I’m sure Uruguay, if you speak to them, they will say (playing) Italy is everything for them. They don’t really look at France and New Zealand probably. We know what’s coming and we’re ready for it. If we don’t front up properly, we’ll get beaten. It’s as simple as that.”
Aside from Uruguay, there were also brave performances from Portugal against Wales and Chile – at their first World Cup – against Japan.
Said Negri: “I think it’s a very positive thing for rugby.
“The fact that Tier 2 teams play better and better helps in raising the level of the entire World Cup, as every side have to fight to get a result.” REUTERS, AFP
