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February 9, 2008
Alex Corbisiero has an Italy shirt for his Neapolitan grandfather and a first try for England’s Under 20 side in the bank from a 22-13 win over the Azzurri in Genoa.
Riccardo Corbisiero emigrated from Naples to the USA to run a restaurant that bears his name in New York.
Riccardo’s in the Astoria district of New York now has a trophy courtesy of his grandson, the London Irish prop who put England on the road to a hard-earned win at the Stadio Sciorba.
Corbisiero’s score was followed up by a second in two games from Saracens wing Noah Cato, replacement flanker Andy Saull added the third – his fourth in four games for England against Italy – and fly half Alex Goode kicked two conversions and a penalty.
"It was definitely great to score against Italy," said Corbisiero, who was born in New York but is now based in Surrey.
"It’s something I wanted to do because it’s part of my heritage. I made sure I swapped my shirt afterwards so I could have an Italian one for my grandfather Riccardo."
Two Six Nations wins against Wales (28-15) and Italy set England up perfectly for their away trip to play France in Grenoble in a fortnight’s time.
But they had to work hard in Genoa against a physical Italian side who had a strong kicking game enhanced by a stiff breeze blowing down the pitch.
England started sharply, played with increasing confidence and the result flattered the hosts who needed a Luca Petillo try in injury-time to add some respectability to the scoreline.
"It was a really physical game and we took it to them right from the start," said Corbisiero, who needed treatment to a head injury following a stamping incident which saw Nicola Simion sin-binned in the second half.
"At the scrum, lineout and breakdown we knew it would be tough but we dominated them in those areas to give our backs a platform.
"There was a definite emphasis on bringing it to them right from the whistle and there’s an intensity and confidence about this team that maybe we didn’t have last season.
"The potential’s always been there for this team and we’ve had more time together and some new faces in the squad. We’ve put the work in and the benefits are showing."
Coach Nigel Redman was delighted with the way his side controlled the game in difficult conditions and dominated an impressive Italian pack.
"The key message was about being physical," Redman said. "Italian forwards are renowned for that and for their technique that gets them playing in the top clubs in Europe.
"I thought our forwards were outstanding at scrum, lineout, in defence and in turning the ball over. They were very physical and that’s a non-negotiable.
"The team is bonding together well and nothing is taken lightly. They train very seriously, play seriously and they’re very good to work with."
He added: "We played on a small pitch in difficult conditions, which meant when you had the wind at your back the sun in your eyes, against a side that had gone to play Ireland at Dugarry Park and only conceded two penalties.
"We’ve scored three tries against them away from home and played with a lot of skill but the team know they still have plenty of things they can work on and make better."
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