Castro wants 'perfect' Italy against Ireland at Rugby W.Cup

Italy star Martin Castrogiovanni has called on his side to produce the "perfect" performance when they face Ireland in a 'playoff' for a World Cup quarter-final place on Sunday. But experienced team-mate Mauro Bergamasco said Italy now had a degree of self-belief lacking in previous Azzurri sides which meant they could reach the last eight of a World Cup for the first time. "To win tomorrow (Sunday) is not a dream but a chance," flanker Bergamasco told reporters at the Otago Stadium here on Saturday. Victory for either of the European rivals will all but guarantee a last eight place -- something Ireland, like Italy, failed to do four years ago. Prop forward Castrogiovanni is the anchorman of a world-class scrum, an area where Italy coach Nick Mallett believes they have the edge over Ireland. However, Ireland's pack dominated Australia at the scrum in a 15-6 win earlier in Pool C -- the shock result of the tournament so far and Castrogiovanni said: "They will come to attack on the scrum, in the mauls and physically, because that's where we are strong "The first scrum will be massive, but you don't win the game on the first scrum or line out. The game lasts 80 minutes."We have nothing to lose and for us it's a final. "We know we have to be 100 percent physically and mentally because our only chance to win the game is to make no mistakes in defence," added the forward, who plays his club rugby for English giants Leicester."To win against Ireland, we need to be perfect." Italy captain Sergio Parisse, one of the world's leading No 8s, added: "Discipline will be very important. It's a do or die game." Ireland have won their last 15 Tests against Italy but they only preserved their winning streak with a nailbiting 13-11 win in Rome during the Six Nations in February secured only by a last-ditch drop-goal from fly-half Ronan O'Gara. "Some of the scorelines have been getting closer and closer and we really had to pull it out of the bag to beat them in Rome in February," said Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll. "It's win or bust." Ireland coach Declan Kidney sprung a surprise in his team selection by selecting 22-year-old scrum-half Conor Murray in his 1st XV ahead of the more experienced Eoin Reddan and Isaac Boss. The other change to the team that started against Australia saw Murphy's Munster team-mate O'Gara preferred to Jonathan Sexton at outside-half. Against the Wallabies, O'Gara had to come off the bench, playing alongside his rival as a centre, in order to seal the win after Sexton missed three out of five goalkicks. O'Gara, on for centre Gordon D'Arcy, secured the win with two crucial penalties with Murray playing the final quarter against Australia after replacing Reddan. Sunday's match will be just the second time Murray has started a Test after taking the field in Ireland's opening 22-10 pool win over the United States and will represent just his fifth cap in all. But O'Driscoll said Murray had the temperament to cope with such a high-stakes encounter. "He's a confident young man who's been shown to be in his depth in these surroundings. You wouldn't know the number of Tests he has under his belt." Italy made just one change to the team that secured a 27-10 bonus point win over the United States on Tuesday that kept their knockout phase hopes alive with fit-again full-back Andrea Masi returning in place of Luke McLean.