Sergio Parisse insists Italy will be ready to cope with England’s powerful backs when they face off at Twickenham in Round Four of the Guinness Six Nations.
Eddie Jones has made two changes to his backline, with starts for Ben Te’o and Joe Cokanasiga giving the English three-quarters even more size.
The two will join Manu Tuilagi, giving Italy a considerable midfield threat to subdue – and Parisse, who returns for the Azzurri to lead the side, knows his team will have to be up to the physical challenge.
He said: “England have an extremely physical three-quarter line. I think Jones has made this choice because he has a clear game plan in his mind.
“They will dominate us from a physical perspective. We have prepared our game plan around ourselves without thinking too much about who we will line up against in an England jersey.
“They have a very deep squad with so many international class players.”
While Italy have yet to win a game in this year’s Championship, they gave last year’s winners Ireland some real problems two weeks ago.
Leading 16-12 into the second half, the Azzurri were able to take their chances on the counter-attack and cause the Irish lineout a lot of problems.
And Parisse explained that two years on from their no-ruck tactics that stymied England at Twickenham in their last meeting at the ground, the Azzurri were planning a more traditional game this time around.
He added: “Two years ago, we put England under pressure with a tactic that perhaps led to a change of the rules. There are things that can change the course of a game.
“We want to have more possession, as we showed against Ireland, and impose our game.”
