Berbizier upbeat about Italy's chances

Italy coach Pierre Berbizier is in confident mood as preparations begin in earnest for the World Cup.

Berbizier has named an experienced 30-man squad for the competition in France to be led by Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami, with the only uncapped addition being Fiji-born loose forward Manoa Vosawai.

“Our World Cup will begin this Sunday when our training meeting will start in sight of the World Cup in France in September,” said Berbizier. “Then our task will be more intensive.”

Berbizier’s side take on Japan at the Saint Vincent Perruca Stadium in on August 18, before wrapping up their preparations with a visit to Ravenhill to take on Ireland on August 24.

“After naming a provisional squad a while back, we now had to reduce the team to 30 players,” added the Frenchman.

“Sadly we had to cut out players such as Carlos Nieto and Maurizio Zaffiri due to physical problems, while the decision to leave out Luciano Orquera has been a technical one.

“But in in the 30-man squad we have players such as Ramiro Pez and Roland De Marigny who can cover the fly-half position very well. We also have Paul Griffen who is another alternative to fill that role.”

The Italians have been drawn in Group C of the World Cup and face New Zealand, Romania, Portugal and a probable knock-out match against Scotland in St Etienne on September 29.