London: Italy have opted not to give veteran flanker Mauro Bergamasco a World Cup send-off against Romania on Sunday with coach Jacques Brunel forced to shuffle his pack in the absence of injured captain Sergio Parisse.
The 36-year-old Bergamasco became only the second player to take part in five World Cups when he came off the bench against Canada but there is no place for him for their final Pool D game in Exeter.
Alessandro Zanni has replaced Parisse at number eight with Samuela Vunisa taking Bergamasco’s spot on the bench.
“The choice was made with the idea of winning the match, not from the heart. We want to have the best chance to win this match. It is better with Vunisa with the characteristics he has,” coach Jacques Brunel told reporters on Friday.
Bergamasco played his first Rugby World Cup game against England at Twickenham in a 67-7 loss in 1999 and joined Samoa’s Brian Lima in an elite club with his fifth tournament appearance.
Parisse, who has failed to shake off a calf injury after returning to the team for the defeat by Ireland on Sunday, saluted his team mate.
“It has been a pleasure and a joy to play four World Cups with him and some of my best memories are from playing alongside him. He deserves all the praise he has received for playing five World Cups, but this is a technical choice,” Parisse said.
Of his own absence, Parisse said he had only been “55 per cent fit” to play against Ireland.
“I wasn’t really ready to start the match against Ireland and it was physically hard, even those 65 minutes, and afterwards my calf hurt a lot... at the end I was destroyed.” Italy, with one win from three games, will seal third place in the group if they avoid defeat but cannot reach the knockout stage.
Romania come into the game on a high after a superb second-half comeback secured victory over Canada, their first win of the tournament.
Coach Lynn Howells has made two changes to the starting line-up.
Daniel Carpo plays at number eight instead of suspended captain Mihai Macovei, while Valentin Calafeteanu starts at scrum-half in place of the injured Florin Surugiu. Macovei has been suspended for two weeks for a dangerous tackle in the Canada match.
