There are many things Sergio Parisse is: a kicker is not one of them.
It is one of the more bizarre things most rugby fans have ever seen on a rugby pitch – a 112kg number eight check his run, shift back onto his right foot and ping a drop goal towards the posts. In the split second that the ball left Parisse’s boot, rugby fans worldwide willed the ball through the uprights as one of the more remarkable endings to a game of rugby.
It would have been justice done too, because Italy probably just about edged their game with France in Paris. Carlo Canna, goal kicking aside, had an excellent debut at fly-half, Michele Campagnaro had a strong game in the centre, reminding Exeter Chiefs what he is capable of when given the time and space France did, and the ever reliable Parisse was his usual dominant self and was about to win the game for his country…
…only the kick skewed about a mile wide.
A disappointing reminder that fairytale endings don’t always happen, and it was a dreadful end for Parisse who, up to that point, had been matchless in his contribution to the game and his performance. Ironically his performance in this game will be remembered for that drop goal and also his bizarre decision to get up off the floor and continue running after being tackled in the 78th minute, a decision which handed Jules Plisson the three points that won France the game.
In many ways Parisse’s game reflected upon how the game went as a whole for Italy, how they came so close to wrapping up a very impressive win away from home (albeit against a misfiring France side) but ultimately their own indecision cost them. Where was Haimona popping up for the drop goal? Why was Parisse the only one back in the pocket? Why was Parisse even in the pocket in the first place?
Questions I’m sure Jacques Brunel was asking of his team in the dressing room after the game.
The result, which actually on the face of it is not a poor one for Italy, will leave a sour taste in the mouth of the Italian coach. After a World Cup campaign where they were dumped out at the pool stage this would have been a perfect way for them to banish those demons and show that they had learned from that disaster. Instead, the defeat proved that the Italian national team has regressed back to square one.
France were poor and any decent team would have been out of sight before Parisse’s implosion in the last five minutes. But Canna’s poor first half goal kicking (the only blemish on his otherwise excellent performance) allied with a submissive front five at the set piece meant the hosts were able to keep clawing their way back into the game and get themselves into a position at the end of the game where Plisson’s impressive long-range penalty granted them all four points.
There are positive points for Italy, no doubt, but this game will be remembered for the chances they blew and for the drop goal that could have been astounding but instead simply left them floundering in disbelief. A trip to Twickenham to face England this weekend will be a tall order for Brunel’s men and unless they can cut out all the errors then it may be a long afternoon for the Italians.
They can’t rely on Parisse forever.
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