Italy v WalesThere is little the Italians appreciate more than being visited by a charismatic international sportsman with bella figura, and yesterday an Italian sports daily was making much of Gavin Henson in the same style it adopted for Ronaldo and Christian Vieri.
"All eyes on the playboy," ran the headline, making much of the "Don King hair, permanent tan and golden boots". Italy's head coach John Kirwan pitched in with jocular threats about directing models with bottles of champagne to the Wales hotel to distract the boy wonder, just as he did when Brian O'Driscoll first flew into the Eternal City.
"I'll change room numbers with Gavin," was the riposte from Wales's coach Mike Ruddock, whose priority is to shield his rising star from other pressures. "There is a definite feeling in the camp we don't want to make him into a hero-to-zero, that we want to bring him through at a pace that we are comfortable with."
It is no coincidence the Italian backs have been working hard on their midfield defence this week, with the seasoned centre Andrea Masi allotted the task of marshalling the line.
Ruddock feels Henson and Wales's interests are best served by limiting the occasions on which the golden boy is asked to kick. "Gavin enjoys the role, but he felt fresh coming to that kick because he hadn't been used so much.
"What we're seeing with Gavin is that he can run the game, because he doesn't have to worry about the responsibility of making calls and taking goal-kicks. It frees him up to play, run, pass and make those big tackles we saw against England. And the fact Stephen Jones missed a couple of kicks doesn't mean he has suddenly become a bad kicker."
How Jones and Henson kick, particularly out of hand, will depend on whether they can master the Mitre ball used by Italy, which scuppered Ireland's kicking game six days ago.
This afternoon, as his side seeks their first away victory in the Six Nations for almost four years, Ruddock will be more worried about the beast in Italy's forwards than Kirwan's jests. "I had a smile on my face on Sunday morning and it was gone on Sunday afternoon when I saw Italy play Ireland. Their forward power is hugely impressive."
Whether the Azzurri can take advantage of the strength of their pack and repeat their victory of two years ago will depend on their ability to maintain their concentration, according to their captain Marco Bortolami, who - with his fellow lock Santiago Dellape - was a massive physical presence in last Saturday's opener. "We were pretty unlucky against Ireland," he said, "but if we can be more competitive at the critical moments, we can win."
Kirwan says Italy need to learn to take their chances. "I've got a bit sick of getting compliments for losing."
