Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Friendly International rugby match.
Backing New Zealand to win won't yield much, as this match features opponents in different leagues. For Italy, this will largely be a learning experience.
Italy
Of course, matches against the teams from the Southern Hemisphere reveal little about Italy's standing. They are on different levels. A more telling indicator is how they fare against Georgia, the next best-ranked European team. Italy managed to edge past the Georgian team (20:17) only when they were reduced to 14 men. Until the 52nd minute, the visitors were ahead 17:6.
New Zealand
At the World Cup in France, the All Blacks convincingly defeated Italy (96:17), but such a thrashing isn't to be expected this time. It's more likely that the New Zealanders will score eight to ten tries and reach around 50 points. Their last encounter in Rome ended at 9:47. This November, the All Blacks faced challenges at their level: they defeated England (24:22) and Ireland (23:13) and had a narrow loss to France (29:30).
Italy vs New Zealand Prediction
Instead of a handicap, we'll opt for the individual total for the visitors. They won't stop until they reach their usual quota.
