‘World class’ Minozzi can plug Le Roux gap says Masi
MATTEO Minozzi is an “incredible talent” whose dancing feet and pace will ensure Wasps make light of full-back Willie Le Roux’s impending departure, says club legend Andrea Masi.
Minozzi, who is well on the road to recovery after suffering an ACL injury playing for Italian side Zebre last September, shot to prominence in the 2018 Six Nations with a series of sparkling displays and tries in successive games against Ireland, France, Wales and Scotland.
Wasps have pulled off a coup by landing the 22-yearold and former Italy centre and Masi, now an academy coach at the club, said: “I’m immensely happy for Matteo – he’s an incredible talent and has a lot of Xfactor.
“He can play either wing or full-back but personally I think he’s a great full-back because he’s so unpredictable on counter-attack. In the bigger spaces I believe he can be world-class and, hopefully, he will settle quickly into the Premiership and take Willie’s place.”
Asked whether Minozzi can realistically be expected to replace a 53-cap Springbok, Masi, below, added: “He has international experience and proving himself last season on such a big stage as the Six Nations at the age of 21, showed he has strong character and personality.
“It will be a good move for him. He’s recovering well from his injury. I spoke to him and, having loved Wasps since I first arrived at the club as a player, and now as a coach, it’s a great environment for Matteo and our brand of rugby perfectly suits his rugby style.”
Meanwhile, Masi has blasted critics who believe Italy should be axed from the Six Nations. Like all Italians, the 95-cap midfielder has been devastated by his country’s run of 19 defeats in the tournament prior to today’s clash with Ireland.
Masi said: “I feel very sorry for the players and coaches who are working extremely hard to change things and disagree with those who want Italy thrown out. We are proving with the quality of our two PRO14 franchises that our structures are improving.
“Benetton Treviso are joint-second in their conference behind Leinster, while Zebre have had some good results and our U18s and U20s are very competitive. I understand the frustration of people who see negative results, but we are getting stronger.”
He added: “Injuries to guys like Minozzi, Tito Tebaldi and Sergio Parisse do not help but we now have 30 quality players and our fitness levels are much higher. We are playing for 80 minutes and our defence is good, they just need more confidence on the ball. “The work Conor O’Shea and his staff are doing is phenomenal – it will pay off.”