Italy head coach Carlo Napolitano has named his 19 man squad to play Tonga at The Shay on Sunday(16:00)
Chris Centrone
Cameron Ciraldo
Ben Falcone
Ryan Ghietti
Aidan Guerra
Gavin Hiscox
Anthony Laffranchi
Joshua Mantellato
Tim Maccan
Anthony Minichiello
Mark Minichiello
Raymond Nasso
Dean Parata
Joel Riethmuller
Brendan Santi
Kade Snowden
James Tedesco
Ryan Tramonte
Paul Vaughan
After retaining their unbeaten record, Italy forward Raymond Nasso wants his side to work hard to get the win they need to qualify for the Quarter-Finals of Rugby League World Cup 2013 when they take on Tonga in their final Group C game at The Shay, Halifax, on Sunday (4.00pm).
Italy played out a memorable 30-30 draw with Scotland at Workington last Sunday to remain unbeaten after triumphing over England in their RLWC2013 warm-up match and beating co-hosts Wales at Cardiff on the tournament’s day.
“The Scots started well, they came out on fire,” said Nasso. “Their halves had great kicking games and put us under pressure early on, but to our credit we fought back into the game and probably let ourselves down by not getting the win.
“Our forward pack started to go forward when I came onto the field which made my job easier. Without their quick play I can’t do much so we started to build the game around our play-the-ball-quick game, which suited me.
“For a minute there we were scoring, then they were scoring and to the credit of both teams we kept going for the full 80 minutes, right to the last field goal attempt, so it was tough game but hopefully the fans enjoyed it.”
Nasso, who was named man-of-the-match for the fixture, was proud of his side for the character they showed to come back and claim the draw against the Bravehearts, and hopes for more of the same as Carlo Napolitano’s side look ahead to Tonga.
“It was a great comeback by us but we have got a few things to work on ahead of our next match against Tonga,” said Nasso. “You have always got things to work on, you are never going to be a perfect side.
“Hopefully we will have some good preparation in training but we have to win the next game otherwise we don’t qualify, so it will be a big game.
“We were a bit flat after the Scotland game but we have put it behind us and now we move on to hopefully qualify.
“The atmospheres have been good and enjoyable. There doesn’t seem to be too many empty seats in and around the stands so it is good and I am enjoying it so far.”
