Berbizier braced for Wales backlash

ITALY coach Pierre Berbizier has steeled his men for a Welsh backlash in today’s RBS 6 Nations Championship clash at the Millennium Stadium.

Wales were thumped 31-5 against Ireland a fortnight ago and have hardly lived up to their billing as Grand Slam champions this season.

Add the “Mike Ruddock affair” into the equation, plus the uncertainty over the future of caretaker coach Scott Johnson, and Welsh rugby appears in chaos.

But Berbizier, the former France scrum-half and Grand Slam-winning coach, refuses to believe Wales will be an easy target.

“It is always a problem when you change a coach - there is always a reaction and I expect a big performance from the Welsh team,” said Berbizier.

“The players want to prove at the Millennium Stadium that they can play to the levels of last year, when they won the Grand Slam.

“It will be very hard for us. They are playing at home and they are a quality team but it is a good opportunity to continue to build our team.”

While Wales have struggled - their one victory over Scotland was sandwiched by thumping defeats to England and Ireland in addition to the off-field shenanigans - Italy have markedly improved this season.

They matched Ireland, England and France for an hour and were it not for a contentious refereeing decision, the Azzurri could have secured their first away win in the Six Nations at Lansdowne Road.

That quest goes on and Berbizier is acutely aware Italy cannot afford to drop off the pace in the final quarter if they are to achieve success this weekend.

“If we play as well as we can tomorrow it will be a big game for us. We will have to find a way to bring that out,” said Berbizier.

“Our target is to build our team and to play the best game we can. We did that against Ireland and England, not against France. The objective is to play the best we can - and hope Wales are not at their best.”