More heartache awaits Italy in Six Nations

David Skippers
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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.

Italy will, once again, head into a Six Nations as favourites to finish with the championship’s wooden spoon as there is a big gulf in class between them and the tournament’s other sides.

If truth be told, they have looked out of their depth in the Six Nations for several seasons now and just gaining a bonus point this year will represent progress for head coach Smith and his troops as they failed to achieve that in 2019 and 2020. The Azzurri have had a torrid time in the tournament in recent years and are currently on a 27-match losing streak – the worst in Six Nations history – which stretches back to 2015. During that horrible run, Italy have only lost by fewer than 10 points on two occasions – against France in 2016 and against Scotland in 2018.

After starting his coaching tenure at the start of 2020, Smith has flattered to deceive as, apart from their woeful record in last year’s Six Nations, Italy also failed to impress in the Autumn Nations Cup later in the year. They only racked up one victory in that tournament but that result was not one they will be proud of as their opponents, Fiji, were forced to withdraw from the match after reporting 29 positive Covid-19 cases in their ranks and tournament organisers were forced to award a 28-0 victory to Italy.

They lost their three other matches in that competition and, with such a poor overall record, Smith will be under tremendous pressure ahead of the Six Nations. Registering just one victory in this year’s tournament could ultimately prove the difference between the South African losing or holding on to his job.

Last year

Smith received a rude awakening in his first match in charge of the Azzurri as they suffered a humiliating 42-0 loss to defending champions Wales in Cardiff, before heading to Paris where they were more competitive but still lost 35-22.

Despite that improved performance, it was more of the same in their next match and once again they failed to trouble the scorers as they were on the receiving end of a 17-0 beating against Scotland in their own backyard at Stadio Olimpico.

Italy’s Round Four fixture was in Dublin against Ireland, who were smarting after losing to England in the previous game, and Andy Farrell’s men bounced back with an impressive 50-17 triumph. That meant the Azzurri had to beat eventual tournament winners England in their final match if they wanted to avoid another winless campaign, but that was highly unlikely and Eddie Jones’ side finished the tournament on a high courtesy of a 34-5 win.

This year

With three of their five fixtures to be played in Rome, there should be some optimism in Italy’s ranks as they head into this year’s competition.

Their first two fixtures are tricky assignments against a highly-rated France side and the defending champions, England. Although the match against France is in Rome, Les Bleus have dominated this fixture in recent years, winning their last 10 games against the Azzurri, and are expected to continue with that trend this year.

The same is expected of the Azzurri’s next match against England, who have won all of the previous 27 Tests played between these countries. That fixture will be at Twickenham where Jones’ side seldom lose and Italy’s main mission will be to try and prevent their hosts from racking up a big score.

The Azzurri’s next two games will be in Rome against Ireland and Wales, and despite having home ground advantage, they are not expected to win those encounters, although those fixtures should present them with perfect opportunities to secure that elusive bonus point.

They then head to Murrayfield to take on Scotland, who are always difficult to beat on their home turf, so another defeat looms for the Italians in that fixture.

Key players

After taking over as the side’s skipper at the start of last year’s Six Nations, very little has gone right under the captaincy of hooker Luca Bigi. Apart from his on-field leadership, the 29-year-old should be at the forefront of the Azzurri’s forward effort – a facet of play which is traditionally one of Italy’s strengths. There will be extra pressure on him to shine in the latter department after they lost the services of back-row star Jake Polledri due to a serious knee injury during an Autumn Nations Cup Test against Scotland last year.

Another player who will be crucial to the Azzurri cause is young fly-half Paolo Garbisi, who has impressed at Test level since making his debut against Ireland in a rescheduled Six Nations match in Dublin late last year. The 20-year-old shone as Italy’s skipper at the World Rugby U20 Championship 2019 before making the step up to senior rugby at Benetton last year and after just three appearances at club level, he was called up to the Azzurri’s Test squad.

He hasn’t looked back since then and, although results haven’t gone Italy’s way during that time, it was not through a lack of effort from the youngster. He has an eye for the try-line with exceptional playmaking skills and will be expected to get Italy’s backline firing – something which has seldom happened of late.

With Garbisi firmly entrenched as the first-choice fly-half, Carlo Canna has been moved to inside centre where he has been a calming influence to his younger team-mate on his inside and the 28-year-old will be expected to continue in that role while also helping Garbisi in unleashing Italy’s outside backs.

Players to watch

Apart from Garbisi, there are several other young, up-and-coming players who will be keen to make an impact in the Six Nations with the likes of Maxime Mbanda, Federico Ruzza and Callum Braley all players capable of making a big impact during the tournament.

Mbanda hit the headlines last year for his work as an ambulance driver during the height of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Italy but he is also a useful rugby player, who is capable of playing on either flank and at number eight in the back-row. The 28-year-old’s athleticism is one of his strengths while his breakdown work and ball-carrying are also impressive strings to his bow.

Another player who will be determined to make an impact is Ruzza, whose game has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. The 26-year-old was one of the Azzurri’s best players at the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and has continued to shine at club level for Benetton. Strong in his core duties, Ruzza has also caught the eye as a ball-carrier and possesses a superb skill-set.

Meanwhile, with Marcello Violi, who started all Italy’s games during the Autumn Nations Cup, dropped from the squad, English-born Braley will be hoping to wear the Azzurri’s number nine shirt in their tournament opener against France. He faces stiff competition from the more experienced Guglielmo Palazzani and Welsh-born Stephen Varney, but Braley has done well since joining Benetton from Gloucester and will fancy his chances of being the team’s first-choice scrum-half.

Prospects

The Azzurri will once again head into the Six Nations as overwhelming underdogs and it’s difficult to see them offering much resistance to their more fancied opponents.

Since the start of his coaching reign, Smith has made no secret that he is building for the future and he has named a youthful 32-man squad which includes four uncapped players – Daniele Rimpelli, Marco Manfredi, Riccardo Favretto and Juan Ignacio Brex – and a handful of players with more than 30 Test caps – Bigi, Canna, Tommaso Allan and Palazzani.

Heading into a prestigious tournament like the Six Nations with such an inexperienced group does not bode well and they will once again be prime candidates to finish with the wooden spoon. Sixth place.

Fixtures

Saturday, February 6 v France (Stadio Olimpico)
Saturday, February 13 v England (Twickenham)
Saturday, February 27 v Ireland (Stadio Olimpico)
Saturday, March 13 v Wales (Stadio Olimpico)
Saturday, March 20 v Scotland (Murrayfield)

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