Conor O'Shea is determined to be the best-prepared foreign coach at next year's Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The ground work has been set after a two-Test tour of the country in June and a recent fact-finding mission that replicated every journey, training camp and match day experience his Italy side will face during the tournament, but it will all count for nothing if the Azzurri do not deliver on the pitch. Saturday's clash with defending champions New Zealand will provide O'Shea with a clear idea of where his team stands 10 months out.
This match in Rome has added significance because Italy are alongside New Zealand in Pool B of next year's tournament. The Italians open their campaign against Namibia on Sept. 22 in Osaka before they face the Repechage winner in Fukuoka's Hakatanomori Stadium just four days later -- which involves a trip of more than 600 kilometres by coach and bullet train.
O'Shea has so far seen his team lose to Ireland and Australia and defeat Georgia in their November Tests this month, and now come the All Blacks, desperate to bounce back after defeat in Dublin. Italy proved they can beat the teams around them with their victory over Georgia, but O'Shea knows the challenge for Italy is delivering on their potential and progressing to the next level, which can be achieved by competing with the world's best.
"You cannot get a bigger test for any team than playing the All Blacks," O'Shea told ESPN. "We will go out with the mentality of taking the game to them and we won't die wondering. We will have a freedom to play and if the other team are better then so be it. This match won't have bearing on the World Cup pool fixture with the All Blacks, but with the tough schedule we have leading up to Japan we want to be battle-hardened. We know that if you are slightly off at the highest level you are ruthlessly exposed."
O'Shea, the former Ireland full-back, played in the iconic 1995 World Cup in South Africa as well as the tournament hosted by Wales four year later. After his two visits to Japan he is convinced the first tournament in Asia will be an outstanding celebration of rugby -- if they get their preparations right.
"We have two games in four days at the start of World Cup and so it was very important to find out what that involved," O'Shea said. "We did the journey the squad will have to make for those games with a pretty long transfer involving a bus journey and two and a half hours on a bullet train. We did everything we are going to face and you want to make sure everything is OK. You don't want to have to talk to the players about where we are going and not to have actually seen everything for yourself."
With Japan hosting the first World Cup to be staged outside the major rugby playing nations, new ground will be broken with teams needing to understand the nuances of being based in the country for an extended period. O'Shea is confident their drawn Test series with Japan in June -- which involved a month playing and training -- has given the coaches and players important insight.
Understanding Japanese culture is another key to having a successful visit. "As a result of our tour, we understand some of the differences of being in Japan, like having different footwear for different places." O'Shea said.
"You go to the gym and have to put a different pair of shoes on and in the street no one crosses the road when the red light is showing. You just don't race across when there is a gap in the traffic -- you all wait for the light to turn green.
"It is a wonder that Japan ever give a penalty away in a rugby match because, as a nation, they stick to the rules. But, they have an unbelievable amount of fun and have a 'work hard, play hard' culture. When they let their hair down they really do. I am even more excited about the World Cup than I was before I visited the country. There is so much for fans to do while they are in Japan and it should be fun."
The weather in Japan next year shouldn't be a problem for the Italians and O'Shea planned their recent visit to get an idea of what the conditions will be like. The venue for Italy's opening match against Namibia will be the most humid, with kick-off at 2.30 p.m. local time. "We play England before heading to Japan and will probably stay in Italy instead of going five days ahead, because I don't want us to be in less humid conditions," O'Shea said.
"Food wise, we are not taking our own chefs but we will send our menus ahead and there wasn't any problem in June. We want the players to experience Japanese food and our guys like sushi anyway, while the facilities that the rugby clubs have in Japan are phenomenal and are up there with the Premiership clubs in England.
"I know the question of tattoos has been raised and we didn't upset anyone on the two-Test tour and once you know the rules of engagement involved in taking part in the tournament then there aren't any problems.
"The World Cup has grown so much and I know that the 1995 tournament in South Africa, which I played in, will struggle to be beaten as a showpiece because of how iconic it was -- but this will be a very special World Cup."