SPORT
THE SIX NATIONS ARE BACK...
Will Italy Rise to the Challenge?
Another year, another chance for the Azzurri to right the wrongs of their past campaigns. There have been some encouraging in recent rugby history for Italy. Although they may be rather familiar with winning the wooden spoon, the appointment of former Harlequins coach Conor O’Shea has certainly had an interesting impact.
In November 2016, following O’Shea’s appointment, Italy defeated tier 1 side South Africa 20 - 18, demonstrating the side’s potential as a serious contender in world rugby. Another underdog victory came in their 2015 Six Nations campaign where they overcame Scotland at Murrayfield and tenaciously silenced the Scottish crowd with a last minute 19 - 22 victory. In fact, it is far from true to say that any result from the Six Nations is decided; Italy’s 2013 campaign saw them beat Ireland and France at the Stadio Olimpico.
Competition between such closely ranked nations in rugby always means that predicting the final table for the Six Nations is a pundit’s nightmare. It is as impossible to predict as Italy’s unusual interpretation of the rules in last year’s campaign against England: Italy refused to contend the ball in a ruck, thus leaving no off-side line which caused a baffled England team to have a serious re-think at half time. Conor O’Shea has turned Italy into a side that cannot be underestimated.
O’Shea, himself nicknamed ‘Caesar’ from his days as a player, knows that Rome wasn’t built in a day. However, he has players with great potential as well as team veterans who are beginning to look back at their careers and want to take something they can be proud of away from it. The likes of Simone Favaro, Sergio Parisse, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Alessandro Zanni fall into the latter category, with Sergio Parisse at 130 caps now the most capped Italian player ever. With this generation coming to an end, O’Shea feels that Italy’s results are building up to turning a corner
We examine Italy’s chances of thriving in the 6 nations amongst tight competition. What tactics and ethos has coach Conor O’Shea brought to the side? Will we see a repeat of last year’s new interpretation of the rules?
BY: WILLIAM HOLMES