Italy’s losing run set to continue in Six Nations

David Skippers

First in our set of previews ahead of the Six Nations we examine the prospects of last year’s sixth place finishers, Franco Smith’s Italy.

The Azzurri head into this year’s tournament, once again, as overwhelming underdogs and favourites to finish at the bottom of the standings and don’t be surprised if they fail to register a victory during the competition.

Italy are currently on a 22-match losing streak in the Six Nations with their last victory registered way back in Round Three of the 2015 tournament, when they beat Scotland 22-19 at Murrayfield.

Although they were in fine form during the early stages of last year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan, registering impressive bonus-point wins over Namibia and Canada, they were out of their depth against eventual tournament winners South Africa and suffered a heavy defeat in that encounter. Their World Cup campaign finished with an anti climax as their final pool game against defending champions New Zealand was cancelled, which meant the Azzurri lost any hope of qualification for the tournament’s knockout rounds.

Shortly after their World Cup exit, head coach Conor O’Shea resigned from his role and he has been replaced by former Springboks assistant coach Smith, who will be determined to end his side’s losing streak in this competition.

Last year: Their 2019 campaign started on a low note as they suffered a 33-20 defeat against Scotland at Murrayfield, with the home side dominating for long periods before outscoring O’Shea’s troops by five tries to one. Italy’s next match was in Rome, against eventual tournament winners Wales, and they were more competitive in their own backyard before going down 26-15.

The rest of the tournament went in a similar vein with the Azzurri holding their own on their home turf but still failing to be triumphant while they struggled away from home. In Round Three, they lost 26-16 to Ireland in Rome before running into a dominant England side, who beat them 57-14 in their next match, at Twickenham. Their final fixture against France was in Rome and although the game was evenly poised throughout, Les Bleus finished stronger and notched a hard-fought 25-14 win.

This year: With the dawning of a new era on the horizon for Smith and his men, there will be a degree of optimism in the Azzurri ranks as they prepare for this year’s tournament. The reality, however, is a different matter and they will have to improve considerably if they want to challenge the other sides and return to the victory trail in the competition.

They have a difficult draw as they kick off their campaign in Cardiff against the defending champions, Wales, before heading to Paris where they take on France. Like Italy, both those teams are also heading into this year’s Six Nations with new head coaches but it’s highly unlikely that the Azzurri will be able to cause an upset against either team. Their next match will be in Rome against Scotland and this fixture will present the Azzurri with their best opportunity to notch that elusive win in the competition as Scotland have proven to be an unpredictable side in recent years.

A win in that fixture will be like manna from heaven but their last two fixtures are tricky assignments against Ireland in Dublin and World Cup runners-up England, who are favourites to win the tournament.

Key players: If Italy want to return to winning ways in this tournament, then their fly-half Tommaso Allan will have to be at his best. They will also rely heavily on their brilliant back-row duo of Jake Polledri and Abraham Steyn.

As the team’s chief playmaker, Allan has shown that he has the all-round game to call the shots at this level and his goal-kicking will also be expected to keep the scoreboard ticking, putting pressure on their bigger name rivals.

Polledri is one of the most exciting players in the game today and although Italy missed out on a play-off spot at the World Cup, it was not through a lack of effort from the Gloucester man, who was one of the best back-rowers in action at the global showpiece. Polledri is an excellent ball carrier with great skills and is also superb on defence and at the breakdown.

Steyn is also strong with ball in hand and in the execution of his defensive duties and with veteran number eight Sergio Parisse – who was omitted from the squad for the opening two rounds but still expected feature later in the competition – in the twilight of his career, Polledri and Steyn will be expected to be at the forefront of the Azzurri’s forward effort in this year’s Six Nations.

Players to watch: All eyes will be on Sergio Parisse, who is set to be involved in the Azzurri’s campaign during the latter stages of the tournament for his international swansong. The talismanic number eight has been a great servant of the Italian game and although he is not at the peak of his powers anymore, the 36-year-old still has a vast array of skills and capable of making a positive impact on any match he is involved in.

Wasps full-back Matteo Minozzi is another player who will be keen to impress after missing the 2019 Six Nations due to a serious knee injury. When on song, the 24-year-old is one of the best attacking players in the game and he showed his class during the 2018 tournament when he crossed the whitewash in four successive matches. Minozzi, who can also play on the wing, was named in the Team of the Championship in 2018 and was also shortlisted for Player of the Championship that year.

Prospects: Although it is possible that Italy will do better than they did in 2019, it is highly unlikely that they will finish above the bottom place in the standings. However, last year’s poor effort – when they finished the campaign with zero points on the table – means that securing just a bonus-point would represent an improvement.

They have a difficult draw this year but despite that, they will push hard to be victorious when playing on home soil and achieving that goal would set the cat amongst the pigeons for other teams in the bigger scheme of things. That will be a tough ask though as we predict another winless campaign. Sixth place.

Fixtures:

Saturday, February 1 v Wales (Principality Stadium)
Sunday, February 8 v France (Stade de France)
Saturday, February 22 v Scotland (Stadio Olimpico)
Saturday, March 7 v Ireland (Aviva Stadium)
Saturday, March 14 v England (Stadio Olimpico)

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