Italy are out to make their mark in the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations.
Last year, Conor O’Shea’s side led Wales at the Stadio Olimpico, while also holding an advantage over England at Twickenham, but failed to turn those profitable positions into victories and went on to lose all five of their games.
Now that Rugby’s Greatest Championship is on the horizon once again, the Azzurri are determined to show that they have made plenty of improvements from 12 months ago.
More than one way to outfox the opposition
The Italians roll out the red carpet for England for their opening Championship assignment on Sunday, February 4 but head coach O’Shea says that his side won’t repeat the ‘no-ruck’ that put England in a spin last year.
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The Azzuri’s tactic of not committing players to the ruck – nicknamed ‘the Fox’ – hoodwinked the hosts at Twickenham in February 2017 and they led 10-5 at half-time before going on to lose 36-15.
England boss Eddie Jones was critical of Italy’s approach but O’Shea claims they won’t be repeating the trick.
“We went for dinner in London on Tuesday night and a fox ran out in front of us,” said the Azzuri chief.
“I thought Eddie had released it as a bit of a joke. We want to win some special matches in the next two years and make necessary changes.
“Our changes won’t be foxes. They will be taking some risks and hopefully unleashing some of the youthful X-factor that we think we have.
“I’m energised because I know we’re making progress. If I didn’t, I’d be walking out the door.”
‘The Professor’ to add his insight
The Italians are set to add another dimension to their coaching set-up with the arrival of former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith, who will arrive in the summer on a consultancy basis.
However, O’Shea says that ‘the Professor’, lauded for his tactical brain, has already begun to influence the Azzurri camp.
“It’s annoying. His Italian is miles better than any of ours, so that’ll be embarrassing when he comes in and starts addressing everyone perfectly,” joked the Italy boss.
“I joked about it before we played the All Blacks [in November] over dinner and then I sent him a text when he retired asking if he wanted to come in. He replied saying he would.
“His nickname is the professor and he’s already onto our analyst, cutting our games. He has a massive passion for developing Italian rugby.
“It’s not about money and it’ll be great to have him on board.”
No playing down the task at hand
Naturally, NatWest 6 Nations openers don’t come much tougher than clashes with the reigning champions.
England will provide an almighty test for Italy at the Stadio Olimpico but O’Shea believes his troops have what it takes to stand up to not only Jones’ men but the remainder of their daunting fixture list.
“We know the challenge that lies ahead of us,” he said.
“It’s massive – England at home and then Ireland away six days later, France away, Wales away and then Scotland.
“It’s tough, but we think we’re in a miles better place than we were 12 months ago. I know we’re in a better place.
“I think we have a better foundation than people understand in our game. I think we will make controlled decisions and take controlled risks.
“That may mean we will lose a bit of set-piece [strength] but we will go for it and we won’t die wondering as opposed to being secure.”
Parisse’s confidence
Meanwhile, Italy captain Sergio Parrisse believes that his team are a wholly different prospect than they were heading into the 2017 Championship.
The 34-year-old Stade Francais No.8 said: “The Championship last year was very difficult.
“It was negative in many ways but it’s been a year and lots of progress has been made, physically especially. “At both franchises – Zebre and Benetton – the boys have achieved difficult physical targets that were set, so I think we’ll arrive at the NatWest 6 Nations in better shape than last year.
“The summer tour and the November Tests gave Conor and the staff a chance to see a number of other players and I’m sure that, beyond the physical improvements, at a technical level, there has been a big step forward.”
A reunion in the offing
The Italians will come up against an old face when they travel to the Stade Velodrome in Round Three, with former head coach Jacques Brunel now in charge of his native France.
Brunel led the Azzuri to their joint-best Championship finish in 2013 – fourth – and fly-half Tommaso Allan is looking forward to going up against Brunel, as well as battling for a starting spot with the likes of Ian McKinley and Carlo Canna.
“It’s true that there is more competition but that will only help improve the squad,” said the 24-year-old.
“Every player has to fight for a starting role and that’s as it should be. The team has more depth in lots of positions.
“As for Brunel with France? I made my debut with the national team under him and there are positive memories of that.
“It will be strange to face him as an opponent. He’s a good coach and will help them.”
