Victory over Wales heralds renaissance for Italian rugby

 ROME -- A spectacular at-the-death victory over Wales in the Principality Stadium has ended a 36-game seven-year winless drought in the Six Nations, and Italians everywhere had cause to smile as their captain, Michele Lamaro, gave his post-match interview.  “How do you celebrate tonight?” Lamaro was asked. “Ah” – he pauses – “we’re not going to celebrate.” And with a roguish smirk he was off to (not) celebrate the Azzurri’s 22-21 win in style.

 Lamaro is a combative Italian backrower of only 23 years, but he made 85 tackles over five Six Nations fixtures in 2022 – leading the pack as the most successful tackler across all teams. If this had been any other winless Italian Six Nations campaigns, this statistic would be getting used by pundits as evidence of Italian rugby’s inability to retain possession. Now, however, it is evidence of an emerging star.

 The rugby talking-heads on television never had much skin-in-the-game, but on the question of Italian rugby they have been especially fickle. Either they say they knew all along that the Italians had it in them, but even when they admit (without really admitting it) that they were wrong, that Italian rugby really has turned a corner this time, these pundits somehow still manage to float the idea that Welsh coach should be sacked because of the defeat. The rugby world can’t have it both ways. Either Italian Rugby has graduated to play amongst the big boys or it hasn’t; but if it has, then rugby pundits everywhere will have to accept that the other nations might now end up losing a match or two against the Italians. Nobody wanted to be the team that ended Italy’s winless run, but someone had to.

 I do not think this is just a blip. Even if the Azzurri hadn’t seen the game out and won praises in the punditsphere (and what a way to do it: a try and a conversion to take the clock into the red at the last!), they would have done enough to demonstrate their progress. They showed real resolve in their game against Ireland where, through no fault of their own, they were reduced to 13 men because of lawbook loopholes. They were also competitive in their loss to Scotland. With 60 minutes gone and 31-10 down, Italian teams of old would have crumbled to a final score-line of 50 plus points. Not so this time, with two late Italian tries making the points difference that much more respectable. The manner of Italy’s recent defeats – their fight, their intent, their structure – matters as much as their victory over last year’s Six Nations champions.

 The Azzurri’s coach, Kiwi Kieran Crowley, said after the game that although the players deserved the victory and this was obviously an important moment for the Italian game, the “group worked a lot and with absolute dedication throughout the tournament.” It is this newfound emphasis on process, expectations, and the fostering a professional environment, that bodes well for the future.

 These processes must still be implemented by good players though. In the past Italian selectors made some more than questionable decisions. Take Mauro Bergamasco’s infamous 2009 performance at scrum-half against England, whose service that day was enough to make even the most hardy fly-half baulk before the incoming rib-tickler. Then there was Luke McLean, an unthinkably slow Italian national full-back-come-centre, whose section continued for over a decade (the only conceivable logic to my mind being that he was brought up in Australia and might have drunk something in the water). Sergio Parise had moments of pure magic of course, and was frequently selected in combined XVs based on his skillset alone. But was he a useful talisman for the Italian team? What did they ever achieve with Parise? By the end of his career, it might even be said that he seemed more of a distraction than a help.

 The selectors seem to have turned all this around. There is a real wealth of talent coming through the ranks. Italy have Sebastian Negri, a tough meters-made ball carrier who burst onto the international scene straight out of university; Paolo Garbisi, a kicker who has moved Italy beyond the woeful says where even Bergamasco would try his boot, and who slotted that final kick against Wales before collapsing in relief; and then there is Ange Capuozzo, the lightening quick 71 k.g. full-back who scored twice of the bench against Scotland and whose in-out step won the game for Italy against Wales. 

 They will need more strength in depth. To compete in the modern game, the Italians need a bench that can change a game. Fortunately, there are signs of this as well. Italy have a promising upcoming U20s squad who came third in the U20 Six Nations and who looked particularly impressive in their victory over England. But Italy have also managed their current talent well. Thomas Allan, Italy’s choice fly-half in recent years, moved to Harlequins in England to improve his game and compete with Marcus Smith for a place, which seems to have given others like Garbisi the chance to grow in his stead on the international stage. Italian rugby has also found talent abroad (real talent this time), with the most recent promising revelation that of Monty Ioane on the wing. All this will hopefully allow selectors to bring together a team with serious competition for places come the World Cup. 

 The missing ingredient still seems to be a couple of superstars. Toulouse might have signed Capuozzo (and Toulouse don’t just sign anybody), but Capuozzo’s stardom is yet to arrive. To continue to compete, Italy will need to foster a couple of truly established stars – the type of players who the neutral cannot but pick in their combined XVs. There’s a famous story about ex England coach Clive Woodward who during a team meeting was motivating his players by saying that he would not choose anybody in the all-blacks dressing room over the players sat in front of him. The England centre Will Greenwood put up his hand at this point and said: “Clive, we’re all with you, but on behalf of the team I think we’d swap Austin Healy for Jonah Lomu.” Lomu transcended the sport. Italy doesn’t need that level of superstar. But they will need one or two more players like Capuozzo who begin to pose these kinds of questions. 

 All this will be too soon for the 2023 France World Cup. But given that Italy’s pool includes the All Blacks and France – the two teams likely to be bookies favourites – they were never really going get through the group stages anyway. However, there are some silver linings to this. Italy has a young group of players and exiting at the pool stages to defeats against the All Blacks and France will not dampen their prospects or temper their ambitions. Of more immediate importance is that Italy continues to make steady progress over the next five years leading up to the 2027 World Cup. Realistically, this involves winning at least one game per Six Nations, which should put an end to murmurings about Italy’s place in the Six Nations. These murmurings originally concerned a promotion option for the second-tier Rugby Europe Championship winners, usually Georgia, which would threaten Italy’s place in the competition. More recently, however, there have been rumours of expanding the competition to include South Africa. The latter proposal is a terrible prospect for world rugby on almost every front – analogous to the conjured-up ‘Super League’ replacement for the ‘Premier League’ idea – and rugby fans everywhere should be hope that Italy continue to trample all over it on the pitch.

 A rugby neutral mightn’t have bothered with Italy’s Six Nations games before. Unless the Italians were facing either your own home nation or Scotland (against whom they could be said to have a fighting chance to escape the wooden spoon), it just wasn’t worth the watch. But the Italian shirt has some pride now, and with this comes the hope that Italian rugby will come out of the cold in the 21st century much like French rugby did in the 20th. Their lion captain Lamaro looks towards such a future without the hangdog demeanour of any of his predecessors. Against the All Blacks on Nov. 6 his pre-match speech went viral, as, with all the passion he could muster, he spoke of “rispetto e credibilità”. The Azzurri might not have had it then, but they have it now.

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