Mallett's Italy prop gets 'shirty'
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:19
He may have been part of the Italy team since 1999, but at 32 years of age prop forward Andrea Lo Cicero has no intention of giving up his starting place lightly.
Italy's undoubted strength is their forward pack and their front row the strongest, most competitive part of it, meaning Lo Cicero knows he needs to be on his toes every time he sets foot on the pitch for a match or training.
He told reporters: "The more established players have to show more desire than the others because we need to show that we deserve to be here."
The Sicilian is not short of competition, with Salvatore Perugini a regular starter for French aristocrats Toulouse and Leicester's Martin Castrogiovanni more than capable of causing problems on both the loosehead and tighthead positions.
With three Tests in November against Australia, Argentina and The Pacific Islands, Lo Cicero is aware coach Nick Mallett might take the opportunity to try out new faces ahead
of the 2009 Six Nations, but feels whoever tries should be aware that they will be in for a fight.
"Whoever wants to take my place will have to wait. I'm pleased with the competition, but I have shown I deserve the shirt," he said.
For coach Mallett the Tests allow him the chance to build on the foundations he put in place in the 2008 Six Nations and the summer tour to South Africa and Argentina, from which they earned a creditable, not to mention rare victory on Argentine soil.
A number of new faces emerged during the Test matches in Cape Town and Cordoba, including flyhalf Luke McLean and centre Gonzalo Garcia.
Mallett said: "It is the same thing with each game. We have to give our maximum, 100 percent, with heart and desire. The whole of this squad is competitive.
"We were competitive on tour to South Africa and Argentina and competed well. The main thing is we stay competitive against three very good teams."
AFP
