By Chris Chaplin
March 5 2003

I, together with most English rugby fans, will be settling down on Sunday afternoon (how weird is that) to see if Woodward's revised line up will excite and amaze us when they turn out against the Azzurri at Twickenham. After a bright and historic start in this year's Six Nations Italy ran slap-bang into reality when they entertained Brian O'Driscoll and his merry band in Bella Italia. Reality now really kicks in for the Italians when they have to leave the sun kissed turf of Rome and present themselves at Twickenham.

While the starting line up is yet to be announced Stoica is not scheduled to make an appearance due to a thigh injury picked up playing for Castres so Mazzucato is to make his first appearance in this year's tournament, having himself just recovered from an injury to his calf. The other possible change is that Rotherham's Ramiro Pez will step in for an allegedly injured Dominguez, although he did play for Stade Francais last weekend. Hmmm!!

With Troncon at scrum half Dawson will need to be at his best as the Italian is cracking player, although he doesn't always play as good a game as he talks but he's a class act on his day. Outside him is usually Dominguez. I have to confess that he is not my favourite player as I don't think he always makes a full contribution to proceedings, although he's always around to kick the points, which represent 938 of the 983 points that he's scored in his 74 capped appearances for Italy, his scoring just 9 tries.

In some ways Pez could be more of an all round threat for while he's only been capped 11 times he's already scored a try, is approaching 50 international points for his chosen country (he was also capped for Argentina) and his play for Rotherham has reportedly been very creative. So we'll see. Raineri is known to us from our meetings with Calvisano and is a strong running centre but has to adapt to the arrival of Mazzucato so this may disrupt some of the excellent playmaking we've seen over the past few weeks in the centre.

There has been some talk over the talent of Bergamasco shining through his conversion from his previous incarnation as an excellent flanker to that of a wing. Well I've looked and looked but just don't see it. To me he looks like a flanker playing on the wing. Ben Cohen he ain't and what the imperative is for taking a flanker who's been capped 29 times and scored 6 tries and playing him out on the wing is something straight out of that slimmest of volumes The Clive Woodward Book of Clever Tactics.

The younger Bergamasco brother, Mirco can play anywhere in the back division, but the youngster's best slot is reckoned to be at 15 and that's where he'll probably start against England. If they've any sense they'll stick with Dallan, who scored a try against Ireland, on one wing and Vaccari, another of our old pals from Calvisano, on the other.

The Italian forwards can look useful and with another Calvisano player Giampiero DeCarli playing they'll be no danger of uncontested scrums as he's well established as both a Hooker AND a Prop. Very capable in the loose he'll need a bit of watching if it gets tricky inside the English 22.

In the second row is one of Italy's rising (no pun intended) stars, one Marco Bortolami and one to watch for the future. Rotherham's Mark Giacheri is in the squad but whether he'll start in preference to Bezzi remains to be seen. It'd certainly be nice to see the Rotherham lad make an appearance at some point and I'm really looking forward to see how Bortolami fares against Grewcock and Kay, as it could be an interesting confrontation.

I also rather hope that coach Kirwan puts Bergamasco senior back where he belongs in the back-row for I always think the contest is better when players are in their best and established positions, which talking of players being out of position rather neatly brings me to England where a newish yet oldish looking England side has sprung from Woodward‘s grey matter.

I guess that the front row pretty much selected itself, although I'm perhaps a little surprised that Regan didn't finally get a start as Thompson has nothing to prove and if he had it wouldn't be worth doing it against the Italians, he played last weekend in Saint's stunning demolition of Irish and he'll be required against Scotland and especially Ireland, so I'd have thought a rest was warranted. Morris gets another shot and quite rightly so as he did nothing wrong against the Welsh, but again I'd have been inclined to rest Rowntree for the same reasons as given for resting Thompson, but the Tiger's case I guess the options are pretty much non existent tp permit the coaches this luxury.

Johnno having succumbed to injury, perhaps the same one that almost kept him out of the Gloucester match, is absent sick and Danny Grewcock gets a start. Actually I think he should have started anyway as he looks on top of his game at last and I was impressed by his brief appearance in Cardiff.

The back row is of course something of mess now with the World's best blindside on the openside, one of the form #8s at 6 and Joe Worsley at 8. All fine players but only one actually playing in position. Why not give Sanderson a start if he's good enough to be on the bench and at least have two players in their proper positions.

Thank goodness Dawson is back. I thought he was absolutely stunning against London Irish and if he's 75% as good as that on Sunday Troncon will have a very difficult afternoon. Wilkinson at 10 will get decent service - at last - and I just hope the Captaincy is not the straw that breaks this particular Falcon's back. With Dallaglio on the field it is another of those inexplicable Woodwardesque decisions which make little sense.

At last a centre playing in the centre, although quite what has justified the return of Tindall I don't really know, not club form for certain and he has been injured until recently I believe. Why not break the habits of a lifetime, or so it seems, and play the wonderful Will Greenwood in position at inside centre and then really confound everyone by playing Ollie Smith an outside centre at.......................yes - outside centre, or is that too simple?

On the wings Luger gets another run out and we'll have to see if he gets any decent ball out wide so that he doesn't have to continually plough through the midfield, take the ball into contact and stop the attack, having usually run away from his support or I suppose you could argue his support having not kept up with him. In any event, since his return he's been a bit of a one-man band and it's not made for good watching.

On the other wing James Simpson-Daniel finally gets a start to show us what he can do, other than against a disinterested Jonah Lomu in a friendly, JSDs' only shown some brief flashes of brilliance thus far and while for sure he is an exciting young player he hasn't actually made that many starts for Gloucester. He is gifted without any shadow of a doubt, but I do want to see him tested against proper international opposition and the Italians will at least be a start. He was less than impressive last Saturday in what I reckon could be his best longer term position for his club, but this in part was due to Henry Paul (remember him the partially RFU funded ex Kiwi, ex RL player still looking for his niche in the West of England) trying to prove himself and not passing young Sinbad the ball too often.

Josh Lewsey has somehow got himself selected ahead of a whole phalanx of contenders with Robinson presumably injured. Quite what Lewsey has done to get himself selected ahead of Stimpson I don't know, maybe we'll see on Saturday.

On the bench it's good to see Ollie Smith included and I see that Simon Shaw is back. Hodgeson is sent down to the bench to continue his demoralisation by Woodward and let's hope that this is not another talented young man destined to disappear. He's the back up kicker but where's the back up full back? With Cohen missing even that option, albeit a dubious one, has gone, presumably Luger gets pushed back and Smith goes to 11 if Lewsey gets crocked.

Another strange looking selection from Woodward then, but at Twickenham he'll get away with it as the pack, even in it's current format will be too strong for the Italians, a decent win for England but I'm not expecting 70 points!