Tonga coach Jim Love is expecting a "backlash" from Italy in their Pool D clash at Canberra Stadium on Wednesday.
The Pacific Islanders are yet to play at Rugby World Cup 2003, while Italy will be desperate for a victory following their 70-7 defeat by New Zealand in Melbourne on Saturday, making this a must win match for both teams.
"The boys are getting a little bit touchy, like most teams that are waiting around to play," Love said. "But I think the team is ready to perform."
Slight upper hand
Tonga hold a slight psychological upper hand against Italy having won the only encounter between the two sides with a 28-25 victory at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.
At 12th Tonga is placed one better than Italy on the official IRB world rankings.
Love said the Italians are a "typical European side with a lot of flair and unpredictability".
"They would have gained experience from that game against New Zealand and I feel we may get some sort of backlash," he added.
Captain Inoke Afeaki could not stress the importance of the match.
"Our campaign will be so hard to achieve if we don't win this game, we will have to throw all our eggs in this nest and focus on winning," he said. "If we don't, our dream of making the quarter finals goes out the window."
The Pacific Islanders have reached the RWC quarter finals just once, in 1991.
Coach promises victory
Italian coach John Kirwan, like Love a New Zealander by birth, has made the promise of securing at least one victory in this year’s RWC.
Italy has named a totally different starting line up from the one that played the All Blacks.
Kirwan said he is sticking with the decision prior to the RWC that the starting teams for the first two matches would be different given the short recovery time between the first two clashes.
He has made no secret of the fact he is targeting the Tongan match as a must win.
"We definitely need to have our biggest game. This is our focus point," Kirwan said. "If we can get up on Wednesday night then we'll approach Canada and it’s our goal to get to Wales with two wins. It is the most important game in the World Cup for both sides."
Strong praise
Despite the 63 point beating at the hands of the All Blacks, Kirwan has been strong in his praise of the side which he said has set the standard for the squad.
“The guys who played well on Saturday have deserved their spots on the bench. It's a World Cup game and it's an important game for Italy, so those who played well are on the bench and they'll be ready to go."
Into this category falls replacement Andrea Masi, who rocked the All Blacks with some huge hits to spearhead an impressive defensive effort by the Italians on Saturday.
"I think that one thing that we can't fall into is the pressure of this game. I want to see the guys out there playing football with smiles on their faces [and] really enjoying this game against Tonga. It's got to be exciting, there is no Thursday against Tonga. They have to throw everything at it."
Captains
Renowned as combatants that never give up, The Tongans are captained by Inoke Afeaki. The former Super 12 player has the size, skills and mental fortitude that makes him an emblematic leader.
Alessandro Troncon, the former scrum half for French club Montferrand, was recently named captain of the Azzurri..
Troncon will be without the now retired fly half Diego Dominguez with whom he has formed the most capped halves pairing in rugby’s history.
However Troncon has such experience in his key position that he could single-handedly carry his teammates to great heights.
The man with the whistle will be New Zealand’s Steve Walsh. He will be assisted by touch judges Alain Rolland and lain Ramage with Donal Courtney the television match official.
Tonga:
1 Tonga Lea’aetoa, 2 Ephram Taukafa, 3 Heamani Lavaka, 4 Viliami Vaki, 5 Milton Ngauamo, 6 Inoke Afeaki (captain), 7 Ipolito Fenukitau, 8 Benhur Kivalu, 9 Sililo Martens, 10 Sateki Tu’ipulotu, 11 Tevita Tu’ifu, 12 John Payne, 13 Gus Leger, 14 Sione Fonua, 15 Pierre Hola.
Replacements: 16 Viliami Ma'asi, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Usaia Latu, 19 Stanley Afeaki, 20 Anthony Alatini, 21 Johnny Ngauamo, 22 Sila Va'enuku.
Italy:
1 Andrea Lo Cicero, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 4 Santiago Dellape, 5 Marco Bortolami, 6 Andrea de Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Sergio Parisse, 9 Alessandro Troncon (captain), 10 Rima Wakarua, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Manuel Dallan, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gonzalo Canale.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Carlo Checchinato, 19 Mauro Bergamasco, 20 Matteo Mazzantini, 21 Francesco Mazzariol, 22 Andrea Masi.
The match, which kicks off at 19:30, promises to be a tense and close encounter and should not be missed. Be sure to stay tuned to rugbyworldcup.com for every minute of this match and every other in the RWC with our live match commentary, match reports, match highlights on audio and video, photo galleries and much, much more.