Italy suffered a 33-8 defeat to France in the Six Nations on Sunday afternoon, ending any small chances of them being crowned unlikely champions in March.
The Azzurri will turn their attention to England when Steve Borthwick’s side travel to Rome in two weeks, with the hosts aiming to secure their first ever win over them in the competition in what could be a special day.
Italy may believe they have never had a better chance of achieving this history, as they impressed in the opening two rounds before battling bravely against an exceptional France side.
Meanwhile, the English have been embarrassed by Scotland first in the Calcutta Cup before Ireland dominated them in Twickenham this weekend, which could prompt a serious inquest into Borthwick and his team from the RFU and media.
So, while this may be the best chance Italy have of beating England, they will have to do it without one of their star players.
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Ange Capuozzo.
The Toulouse and Italy star had just recovered from a finger injury, which had ruled him out for the first two rounds of this year’s competition, but now it is likely he is to miss the games against England and Wales.
Capuozzo, who scored Italy’s only try against France, suffered a shoulder injury which saw him withdrawn in the 72nd minute of the match.
Following the defeat, the Italian head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, admitted Capuozzo could be out for a sustained period and feared how Toulouse head coach, Ugo Mola, would react to the news.
Quesada said: “He hurt his shoulder, but the early prognosis is that it’s more likely an acromioclavicular injury than a dislocation, but I’m not a doctor; I stopped in my fourth year.
“I think we’ll see once he’s had some scans. Maybe it’s more the acromion (shoulder blade) than a dislocation, which can change a lot of things, especially for Ugo (Mola), because otherwise he’s going to get angry.”
An acromioclavicular injury has a recovery time of anything between three weeks and three months.
Topics: Rugby, Rugby Union
Brendan McGilligan