PARISSE: IF ALL BLACKS NEEDED A WIN WE’D BE PLAYING
Heartbroken Italy skipper hits out as grand farewell is ruined
Once the news of Typhoon Hagibis had been confirmed, the collateral damage began to rip through the heart of the Italian team room.
Sitting together, staring into space and chewing every mouthful of lunch for what seemed like an eternity, Italy’s old guard wiped away the tears.
For Sergio Parisse, Leonardo Ghiraldini and Alessandro Zanni, tomorrow’s game against the All Blacks was supposed to be their grand farewell, having won over 100 caps each.
It was the least they deserve for sticking with a team that, throughout their careers, has spent most of the time on the end of a hiding.
Their families were left in limbo. Wives and children were due to converge on Toyota this morning but, as World Rugby announced their decision at midday local time, confusion reigned. The heartbreak turned into anger.
Parisse momentarily snapped at a reporter who asked about his cap haul — ‘I don’t care about records,’ he said — and went on to criticise the governing body.
‘We know there are typhoons in this part of the worldd so where is the plan B?
‘I don’t understand the decision. It’s really lly wrong. It’s not like e i t’s 15 days of f typhoons. It’s one day. Why couldn’t we play on Friday? Or Sunday? Or move?’
Italy still had an chance of reaching g the quarter-finals if they had beaten new ew Zealand.
‘They think this gameme has no big influence,’ addedddPParisse. i ‘Of course safety is the priority, but maybe they say: “new Zealand versus Italy — eight million times new Zealand are gonna win”. Maybe one time in eight million that will be different but we don’t have an opportunity to try. This is why we play.
‘Some people are saying Italy should be happy to get a draw. That’s bull. If england must win against France to qualify, would they say “draw” and send england back home? I don’t think so. Ireland? no. new Zealand? no. I promise you that. When you realise it’s maybe your last ever game or think how much effort you’ve made to be here, it’s tough.’ Younger Yo players, who wh will probably get g another chance c in four years, gathered around the media session to hear what P Parisse and c conor O’Shea ha had to say. The hea head coach paid a heart heartfelt tribute. ‘What a way to finish,’ said id an i impassioned O’Shea, his voice tremoring at times. ‘We’ve been preparing for this since June 2. Sacrificing family life for four months. For it to end like this — it’s hard. It’s difficult to speak about.
‘I saw the reaction at the end of training and it was horrible. You’ve got guys who have given their lives to Italian rugby and they’ve finished on a training pitch in Toyota. Win or lose, these guys have always come back for more.
‘One hundred per cent, these are the guys that kept Italian rugby alive. They went through all the pain and kept on coming back for more. They’re unbelievable men and I find it really hard for them. I hope the young guys see their legacy and want to be like them, as people as much as players. If young guys like Jake Polledri become half the player Sergio is, Italy will be fine.’
The question now is ‘What next?’ Italy are due to fly home on Monday but yesterday afternoon they had no idea whether they were meant to check out of their hotel.
In the longer term, Parisse has some thinking to do. He wants to return for a farewell Test in Rome during the Six nations but, as Typhoon Hagibis has showed, anything can happen.
‘I don’t want to finish like this,’ said Parisse, 36, who will be remembered as one of the great rugby players. ‘I don’t want to finish because some guys in a room make a decision. I don’t want to say I finished my career because of a typhoon.
‘I’m honest, I’ve given everything I can give to the Italian jersey over 17 years. Physically and mentally. I don’t have the same physical energy as when I was 25 years old. When you see the young guys in this team, they deserve to play and take my place. I don’t have any more progress. now it’s important that I take a step away and leave these guys to play. That’s what’s best for the team. I would like to play one last game at home in Italy. The Six nations is the next competition so I will go home, rest and talk about that with the Federation.
‘There was a big chance this would be my last game if it went ahead. I wanted to play with Leo and Ale. We grew up playing together. We came in as youngsters. Just walking on the moon.
‘We played great rugby, average rugby and not-so-great rugby but we’re all really proud. This was like the final for us. The last one.’