Friday 6 February 2015 19:11, UK
Italy captain Sergio Parisse admits it came as a surprise to learn Ireland have selected Ian Keatley at fly-half for Saturday's Six Nations opener in Rome.
Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has first-choice Johnny Sexton unavailable because of a head injury and with deputy Paddy Jackson ruled out of the entire tournament, Azzurri No 8 Parisse says his side expected to line up against Leinster's Ian Madigan.
"We didn't expect probably to play against Keatley at number 10: we thought in our minds that it would be Madigan," said Parisse. "In any case, they are two different kinds of player.
"Madigan is the kind of player that attacks the line more, a good step and Keatley has another kind of game. From the tactical point of view, he's probably more similar to Sexton.
"From our point of view, we don't really focus our strategy on Madigan or Keatley, we just study Ireland as every team does in the Six Nations and try to put them under pressure. I suppose for him it's a great opportunity.
"He will have great pressure on his shoulders before the match, but he plays for Munster and has the attitude to play at good levels.
"We don't think too much about that: we must keep pressure on him, but not just only on him. Obviously with any team you want to put the number 10 under pressure.
We didn't expect probably to play against Keatley at number 10: we thought in our minds that it would be Madigan,
"When you have an opportunity to play for your country in a match in the Six Nations, there is a big responsibility, big pressure. So it's for him to manage this pressure.
"For my point of view, the Italian point of view, we want to put pressure on him and all his team, but we don't focus just on him and focus just on his match.
"I really feel that if Ireland play at 60 or 70 per cent against us they are not going to win: they must play at 100 per cent to beat us. So it's going to be tough for Ireland.
"But for us, if we don't play at 110 or even 150 per cent, then we don't have any chance of winning. I'm really confident in our team and our plan though, and that we'll put everything into getting the win.
"We know it's not enough to play with passion and energy against Ireland. We have to show that we can play quality rugby as well.
"Tomorrow's going to be crucial for us to show to the Irish team that Italy is not just passion, that Italy is not just energy, it's quality rugby as well. This is the big chance for us.
"And as I said before we'll play against a really quality team and I'm really confident my team is ready to play a great match.
"I'm really confident Italy has the ability to compete seriously in the Six Nations. But every year we must show we really deserve to play in it, otherwise we will struggle and we know the tournament is tough for everyone.
"It's a new year, so we have the chance to prove we deserve to be here all over again, and that's what we want to do."
