Gonzalo Quesada charges Italrugby for Japan
The words of Gonzalo Quesada
The Italian National Men’s Rugby Team è arrived in Sapporo where on Sunday, July 21 at 2:05 p.m. local time (7:05 a.m. Italian time) they will face hosts Japan in the third and final Test Match of the 2024 Summer Tour. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Arena and streamed on Now.
Upon’arrival at the Azzurri’s new headquarters in northern Japan, Gonzalo Quesada analyzed the formation choices:“We opted not to have an experimental lineup. Odiase and Mey did not take the field on this tour but for them è it was a great experience to experience the international level up close. They are two players who have played all year in the Espoirs of Oyonnax and Clermont.
“For Gallagher and Zarantonello the talk è different. They both played a lot with their clubs doing very well, in L’Aquila and Auckland they proved themselves at the level and the absences of Giacomo Nicotera and Ange Capuozzo in the first match allowed them to take the field with Samoa. For the upcoming match with Japan, given what we have seen in matches and in training over the past few weeks, we have made the choices we feel are best for the match ahead. I spoke with both of them and they fully understood the selections.”
“Ruzza had suffered a back problem after Tonga, but nothing serious. We were surprised at how quickly he recovered and decided to select him on the bench giving Zambonin the opportunity to start from the first minute. The lineout è one of the key points on which Japan” rests.
“At strategic level on our side we have not changed much compared to the past games. We still have significant room for progress on offense. We focused mainly on defense, which will be facing something completely different than the frontal challenge brought by Tonga and Samoa. The Japanese offense è much more lateral, with lots of options in the lineup, lots of speed and the ability to use the full width of the field.”
“We prepared the game taking into account all these variations but focusing mainly on ourselves. I think we are ready to finish well this beautiful season that has brought so much joy to this group” concluded Quesada.
