It is 20 years since Italy began tussling with the European heavyweights in the Guinness Six Nations and they have certainly made their mark during that time.
During the last two decades, the Azzurri have orchestrated some phenomenal tries and we’ve picked some of the most memorable here.
Mauro Bergamasco v Scotland, 2001
During the 2000s, the Bergamasco brothers imposed themselves in whichever way they could and were two of the Azzurri’s standout players.
On this occasion it was Mauro who basked in the glory. Just like his brother, Mirco, Mauro possessed raw speed, which was rarely seen in flankers at the time, and could make a try from almost any situation.
As Italy turned the ball over deep in their half, the ball found its way to Mauro on the left wing. Up against Gregor Townsend, now Scotland head coach, the Italian shrugged him off and accelerated to the try line, leaving Chris Paterson in his wake for good measure.
Corrado Pilat v Ireland, 2001
A truly majestic try and the perfect way to kick off the 2001 Six Nations.
While it’s Corrado Pilat’s name written in the record books, this try was all the work of Alessandro Stoica.
The Romanian-born full-back produced a sniping line to evade Ireland’s defence, and after a nifty one-two with Luca Martin, the ball made its way to Pilat on the far side to finish in the corner.
Mirco Bergamasco v Scotland, 2006
Another Bergamasco try, but this time it is younger brother Mirco’s turn to showcase his mercurial talents.
Ramiro Pez’s delicate chip in between Scotland’s defensive line and two back fielders was right on the money, leaving Mirco the challenge of timing his run and sliding over for the score. Sumptuous stuff!
Kaine Robertson v Wales, 2007
The first of two tries from the same match on the list, as Italy stunned Wales in Rome.
This was all about the Robertson, though, in a try he created all for himself. Noticing there was no full-back in place, the winger came out of position to scoop the ball from the bottom of the ruck and launch a huge box-kick up the field.
It became a foot race between him and lock Ian Gough, in which Robertson prevailed to gather the ball and cross over to secure a stunning try.
Mauro Bergamasco v Wales, 2007
Wales fought back in Rome to lead 20-16 with three minutes remaining only for Mauro Bergamasco to pop up and claim a famous win for his country.
Another Ramiro Pez chip in behind unleashed Mauro Bergamasco to dot down for a memorable try.
The Stadio Flaminio went into raptures as Italy claimed back-to-back victories in a Six Nations tournament for the first time.
Sergio Parisse v France, 2013
The talisman enters the list in typical Sergio Parisse fashion. A flowing counter-attacking move led to fly-half Luciano Orquera finding a gap to storm through and provide his captain, on his shoulder, an opportunity to gallop towards the try line.
It kick-started the Azzurri’s charge to defeating France 23-18 on a memorable afternoon.
Michele Campagnaro v Wales, 2014
Michele Campagnaro and Leonardo Sarto combined superbly against Wales to engineer a try from inside Italy’s own half.
Sarto’s punt down the touchline was collected by a rapid Campagnaro, out-sprinting Taulupe Faletau and Leigh Halfpenny, before the centre impressively managed to get the ball down in time before it ran over the dead-ball line.
Tommaso Allan v Scotland, 2018
There’s nothing like a counter-attacking move in rugby. After some rugged line-breaking from Jake Polledri, where he bounced off two Scottish tacklers, the flanker put Tommaso Allan in an acre of space to dive over.
It was part of a wonderful performance by the fly-half, whose tally for the afternoon was 22 points, but the Italians fell short at the death, losing 29-27.
