italy
six nations
Italy Six Nations
A
fter losing all five of their matches in 2014, Italy faced a number of familiar questions coming into the 2015 edition
of the RBS Six Nations Championship. Victory over Scotland at Murrayfield this time around in a thrilling 19-22
encounter provided a welcome boost for the Italians however.
It was not the only positive for the team as they also showed
that they were more than capable of competing in their games
against Ireland, England and Wales although all of them
eventually ended in convincing defeats. Sergio Parisse was again
in outstanding form for the Italians in the games he played and
continues to be a genuinely World Class No 8.
The next step for Italy will be to ensure that they are able to
compete consistently for 80 minutes at the top level. Winger
Giovanbattista Venditti enjoyed a successful 6 Nations on a
personal level with two tries and recognised the need
for his side to improve, telling la Gazetta dello
Sport, “We cannot just put in a good
performance every so often to be
considered a side that plays to
a high standard.”
"We performed well in
the first half against
Wales, making a
performance
where
we
showed
that we
know
how
t o
impose our game. But then in the second half it took only two or
three mistakes and we lost from there. We paid dearly for those.”
Josh Furno was another play to stand out for the Italians and spoke
about their performance after the tournament, commenting that,
“I think we're a little bit disappointed with our RBS 6 Nations
campaign even if we did manage to get a big win over Scotland.”
“That was one of the games we targeted and we managed to get
a good result.
“But the last two games were pretty disappointing especially
that game against Wales because we managed to put out a good
first half or first 50 minutes but ended up losing it in the last 20
minutes of the game.
"On the whole, I think we made a big step forward as a team
especially after last year when we didn't win a single game.
"It's always a tough competition and you never know what to
expect from it each year."
As with all the sides involved, their attentions will now have
turned towards preparing for the World Cup in September when
they face a difficult task of making it to the quarter finals having
been drawn in a group with both France and Italy who proved
too strong for them recently.
There is a chance for them to show the World the progress that
they are making in the game and good performances against
both the heavyweights in their group would mark a successful
World Cup effort. This is still a work in progress and the World
Cup should be part of that effort given the draw they’ve been
handed. If they can continue to develop however they will be
moving away from being the favourites for the wooden spoon
year in year out.
“Winger
Giovanbattista
Venditti enjoyed
a successful 6
Nations on a
personal level.”
www.sportip.biz
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