Italian ace out of US showdown
Italy fullback Andrea Masi has pulled out of Tuesday’s World Cup match here against the United States and been replaced by Luke McLean.
Masi, a 63-Test veteran, suffered a slight calf strain and it was decided to rest him as a precautionary measure before their next game against Ireland, a team spokesman said on Monday.
Giulio Toniolatti, who is more at home on the wing, comes on to the bench for McLean.
Italy need to win their last two pool matches against the United States and Ireland to have a chance of making the quarterfinals.
Italy – revised: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Sergio Parisse (captain), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Cornelius van Zyl, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Edoardo Gori, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Giulio Toniolatti.
Date: Tuesday, September 27
Venue: Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Kick-off: 19.30 (06.30 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
AFP
