Injured fly half Craig Gower replaced b Kristopher Burton in Italy’s 36-man 2011 RWC Training Squad
Italy’s national rugby union head coach, Nick Mallet, has announced Benetton Treviso’s fly half Kristopher Burton as a replacement for the injured Australian born fly half Craig Gower in the Azzuri’s 36-man training squad for their 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC).
Gower sustained a knee injury in November 2010 in Italy’s encounter against Argentina. He announced his unavailability for the 2011 RWC on Wednesday, June 29. He confirmed that his knee ligament injury had not recovered fully. Gower said, “The healing process
has not gone as I expected and I don't feel capable of undergoing such high-level preparation without having returned to full fitness.”
Gower expressed his disappointment in not being able to take part in the 2011 RWC. He said, “It's not been an easy decision. Playing in a World Cup is the target of every player. I'm not in a position to express myself 100 percent and I don't think I will
be in the next few months.”
The Azzuri’s head coach, Nick Mallet, has stated his disappointment in losing an experienced player like Gower for such an important tournament. However, he has wished Gower the best for a quick recovery.
Mallet said, “We respect Craig's choice, but we cannot be happy. Craig is a great player and he has had a major impact on the team in the last two seasons. The FIR (Federazione Italiana Rugby) and the medical staff of the national team have done everything
possible to put him in a position to recover, but we must accept his decision and wish him all the best. "
Italy’s training and conditioning camp will start on Monday, July 3 in the Northern Italian province of South Tyrol.
The remaining training squad was unchanged. Italy’s 2011 RWC training squad includes:
Forwards: Lorenzo Cittadini (Treviso), Alberto De Marchi (Aironi), Salvatore Perugini (Aironi), Leonardo Ghiraldini (Treviso), Tommaso D'Apice (Rome), Fabio Ongaro (Aironi), Valerio Bernabo (Treviso), Joshua Furno (Aironi), Quintin Geldenhuys
(Aironi), Cornelius Van Zyl (Treviso), Robert Julian Barbieri (Treviso), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais/France), Paul Derbyshire (Treviso), Manoa Vosawai (Treviso), Alessandro Zanni (Treviso), Martin Castrogiovanni (Leicester/England), Andrea Lo Cicero (Racing-Metro/France),
Marco Bortolami (Aironi), Carlo Antonio Del Fava (Aironi), Sergio Parisse (Stade Francais/France).
Backs: Pablo Canavosio (Aironi), Fabio Semenzato (Treviso), Riccardo Bocchino (Aironi), Tommaso Benvenuti (Treviso), Gonzalo Garcia (Treviso), Luke McLean (Treviso), Andrea Pratichetti (Treviso), Matteo Pratichetti (Aironi), Alberto Sgarbi
(Treviso), Giulio Toniolatti (Aironi), Luciano Orquera (Brive/France), Edoardo Gori (Treviso), Kristopher Burton (Treviso), Mirco Bergamasco (Racing-Metro/France), Gonzalo Canale (Clermont/France), Andrea Masi (Racing-Metro/France).
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