Cool Smal shrugs off Mallett’s blows

GERT SMAL and Nick Mallett’s careers have been intertwined for more than 30 years and Ireland’s forwards coach knows enough about the Italy boss to suggest his fellow South African will “do anything” to get his way on the rugby pitch.

Take yesterday’s post-match gambit after Italy had seen off the USA, when Mallett pointedly declared: “I know we have a better front row than Ireland’s.”

Or like inventing a story about French referee Romain Poite writing an apology to the Italian federation for the way he officiated the scrum in the 2010 Six Nations meeting between his side and Ireland, on the eve of the 2011 encounter last February in Rome. Poite was set to referee the fixture again and Mallett saw fit to increase the pressure on the match referee ahead of another collision between the two front rows.