New Zealand are looking to end their year on a high against Italy on Saturday after last weekend’s painful defeat to France left the All Blacks ruing missed chances.
Coach Scott Robertson has picked a strong line-up for the clash in what is expected to be a freezing cold Turin where temperatures are forecast to be below zero when the match kicks off at 2110 local time (2010 GMT).
His starting XV contains only a small number of changes, some forced by injury, from the 30-29 France defeat at the Stade de France in which New Zealand looked a completely different outfit to the one that stumbled through the Rugby Championship.
And Robertson admitted his surprising decision to start a host of stars like two-time World Rugby player of the year Beauden Barrett was motivated by a desire to bounce back from what he considers an undeserved loss.
“It’s part of the reason we named the team. The guys were desperately disappointed last week, we created so much and the French just took a few opportunities. The game changed, we had our chances which we didn’t take,” Robertson told reporters on Thursday.
“We wanted to come up here and sweep the north… It’s been a big 40 days for us and we want to finish on Saturday night with a performance we’re proud of.”
New Zealand have won all 17 of their matches with Italy stretching back to 1979 but they are not taking the fixture lightly despite the home side having little hope of causing what would be a monumental upset.
Italy have won five of their 10 test matches under Gonzalo Quesada and came into the November internationals with a improved reputation after their best-ever Six Nations campaign earlier in the year led them to a fifth-placed finish.
“We’re picking the best team to win this test. We feel like the team we picked is full respect,” added Robertson.
“They’re a passionate side, when they get it right they’re a tough side to play.”
– Cane’s farewell –
Sam Cane, who sat out the France defeat with a head injury, will bow out of international rugby with his 104th cap while TJ Perenara is on the bench for his last All Blacks match.
Cane was part of New Zealand’s last World Cup-winning team in 2015 and captained them to the final at the most recent tournament in France, when he was sent off early in the first half and had to watch his team narrowly lose to South Africa.
“I know we’re playing a guy who’s moving on next year but the value overrides any sentiment,” said Robertson of Cane.
“His value in the team has been incredible over a long period of time.. he epitomises an All Black loose forward, a great leader and he’s left a hell of a mark for us and the jersey.
Quesada admitted to Italian reporters he had little hope of his team winning at the Allianz Stadium and replicating their first ever victory over Australia this time two years ago.
Italy have not convinced this month, thumped by Argentina and scraping past Georgia 20-17 after being way behind at halftime, and Quesada is wary of another obliteration at the hands of the All Blacks like the won suffered at the World Cup when they shipped 14 tries.
“After not having a great Rugby Championship… their matches in November have been a sea of tries against Japan, wins over England and Ireland, and they deserved to win against France,” he said.
“They lost by a point but they went back to being All Blacks we all know… we’ll have the best version of the All Blacks up against us.”
Quesada has been boosted by the return of Toulouse star Ange Capuozzo, who starts at full-back after sitting out his team’s win over Georgia with concussion.
Capuozzo left the field seven minutes into Italy’s heavy loss to Argentina which kicked off their autumn test campaign earlier this month, and comes in for Matt Gallagher.
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