The fourth day of the Guinness Six Nations women’s rugby tournament will be held over the weekend and Nanni Raineri’s Italy will return to the field on Saturday afternoon at the Lanfranchi in Parma, where Scotland will arrive. After having challenged the battleships England and France, and after the historic victory in Ireland, it is time for the Italians to put their game into practice and close the tournament with two victories.
Scotland is currently positioned behind Italy, in fifth place with 4 points in the standings, but the British are the worst attack of the tournament, with only 3 tries scored and 25 points scored. On the other hand, Italy has already conceded 107 points, but as mentioned they have already faced the strongest teams. But against a team that struggles in attack, what the Italians have to do is concede even little possession to the Scots, changing their approach to the match compared to the first three rounds of the tournament.
Playing as many balls as possible, moving the ball around with players like Alyssa D’Incà, Aura Muzzo, Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi and Beatrice Rigoni means putting Scotland under pressure, a team that if forced to defend can go off the rails and leave space for the Azzurri attack. And Raineri’s team will have to do it, beyond the injuries that limit the blue coach’s choices.
ITALY – SCOTLAND
Italy: 15 Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, 14 Aura Muzzo, 13 Alyssa D’Incà, 12 Beatrice Rigoni, 11 Francesca Granzotto, 10 Veronica Madia, 9 Sofia Stefan, 8 Elisa Giordano (C), 7 Francesca Sgorbini, 6 Ilaria Arrighetti, 5 Giordana Duca , 4 Sara Tounesi, 3 Sara Seye, 2 Vittoria Vecchini, 1 Silvia Turani
Available: 16 Laura Gurioli, 17 Gaia Maris, 18 Lucia Gai, 19 Valeria Fedrighi, 20 Isabella Locatelli, 21 Beatrice Veronese, 22 Sara Mannini, 23 Beatrice Capomaggi
Scotland: 15. Chloe Rollie, 14. Rhona Lloyd, 13. Emma Orr, 12. Lisa Thomson, 11. Francesca McGhie, 10. Helen Nelson, 9. Caity Mattinson, 8. Evie Gallagher, 7. Alex Stewart, 6. Rachel Malcolm (C), 5. Louise McMillan, 4. Eva Donaldson, 3. Christine Belisle, 2. Lana Skeldon, 1. Molly Wright
Available: 16. Elis Martin, 17. Leah Bartlett, 18. Elliann Clarke, 19. Fiona McIntosh, 20. Rachel McLachlan, 21. Mairi McDonald, 22. Meryl Smith, 23. Coreen Grant
Tags: Italy challenges Scotland aim win convince
