Auckland: Italy coach Nick Mallett knows the only way to stop Will Genia and Quade Cooper from supplying Australia's potent backline in today's opening Pool C match of the World Cup is to attack the source of their ball.
Mallett is open about his plans to try and curtail the influence of the Wallabies playmakers at North Harbour Stadium, arguing it's unrealistic to expect his halves and loose forwards to completely shut down a dynamic duo noted for their ingenuity and extravagant skill level.
Instead, Mallett will call upon Italy's traditional set-piece strengths to upset an Australian scrum and lineout that receives far fewer plaudits than its backline.
"We've got lots of problems with the Australian side because they've got good players all around the park," Mallett said. "The most important thing is to get our forward pack playing well, because if we can manage to put their pack under a little bit of pressure then obviously the number nine is under pressure. If the number nine is under pressure, then his service to the number ten isn't quite as good.
"We've got to start off playing well in the forwards, then worry about the halfbacks and the backs after that."
World class
Mallett said outside backs like Kurtley Beale, Digby Ioane, Adam Ashley-Cooper were world class.
"It's not one player we're concerned about," he said.
Ironically, Australia may have the odd concern about their own players, too. Only Rocky Elsom, Stephen Moore, Dan Vickerman and Ashley-Cooper have prior World Cup experience in a starting lineup that is Australia's youngest at any tournament since the 1987 edition.
By contrast, Italy's starting team is the country's second most capped, just behind the lineup that stunned France in the Six Nations championship.
Having criticised his players for attacking too much in their own half in a warm-up loss to Scotland, Mallett will want Italy to play for territory. Especially having picked lineout specialist Cornelius Van Zyl to join jumping options Carlo Del Fava and captain Sergio Parisse.
But if Mallett's tactics to target the Wallabies pack are no surprise, then neither are Italy's strengths and playing style to Australia's camp.
"They keep the scoreboard ticking over through various ways," tighthead prop Ben Alexander said. "They have a very good drift defence, and obviously the scrummaging is very good, their mauling is very good. All their forward encounters are very good, that's where their game begins."
