Italy comes into Chicago hoping to get the city's huge Italian-American community behind it, but there are other points to prove, too.

FloRugby checked in with Ian McKinley and Luca Morisi, who will be part of the Azzurri arriving in Chicago.

Both have had their struggles. McKinley retired after a rugby clear went into his eyeball (yes, it is as gruesome as it sounds). But after doing some coaching in Italy, he got the fire again, and, thanks to some new goggles approved by World Rugby, he's on the pitch again.

The goggles, said McKinley, do a good job of protecting his eyes and are kept on in part by his scrumcap. He has had the goggles ripped off only twice - the first time he wore them, and a couple of weeks ago, which, he said, was a bit of a freak accident.

A freak accident might have been what derailed Morisi's quick rise to prominence. A shattering tackle suffered against Fiji damaged his spleen, which had to be removed. Morisi came back only to suffer a knee injury. He's been out for about two years.

Both are supremely eager to face Ireland November 3 at Soldier Field.

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Meanwhile, head coach Conor O'Shea knows the job will be a tough one as Italy won't have available four players in overseas leagues. 

"We are very happy with what we have achieved in the first two years of our project to rebuild Italian Rugby," said O'Shea. "We may not have our four overseas players available, but we will arrive with a talented group and we hope to demonstrate that we are beginning to develop a depth of ability ourselves too that is necessary to compete at the top."

O'Shea, who played for Ireland, and watched closely the success Ireland had in Chicago (beating New Zealand in 2016), hopes Chicago will bring the Italians as well as the Irish to Soldier Field.

"I think both communities will be represented as both Italian and Irish people have massive US communities, so for both sets of players it will be a reminder of who they represent," said O'Shea. "It is not just the people at home it is all those expats who are proud to be both Italian and Irish abroad. It will be a great occasion."