Louis Lynagh on ‘key moment’ two years ago that led to toppling England and ‘creating history’
Louis Lynagh on 'key moment' two years ago that led to toppling England and 'creating history'
Italy star Louis Lynagh has reflected on his team’s record-setting win over England on Saturday, which propelled them into fourth place on the Six Nations table.
It was Italy’s first-ever victory over England, and one that left the Rome crowd brimming with pride. It’s been a long journey to get where they are now, and one that until recently never looked possible.
It was only in 2022 that Italy climbed out of their seven-year, 36-game losing streak in the Six Nations, with a famous victory over Wales in Cardiff.
The development of the players within the Italian system has been nothing short of transformative in recent years, and the results are starting to pay dividends.
“We’ve got some amazing players, and we’ve got the players who add that bit of stardust,” said Lynagh.
“Since Gonzalo has come in, we’ve got that detail, but on top of that, we’ve got that flair and passion. When we get the opportunity, we’re going to pull the trigger.”
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Lynagh told ITV after the match that this triumph was a result of two years of hard work.
“It started two years ago against Scotland,” he explained. “But the win against Scotland earlier in this Six Nations – grinding out a win in the rain – that was a key moment. It gave us the solid belief that if we apply ourselves, results like today will happen.”
Asked about the stress of the final 10 minutes in which Italy needed to see the game out, Lynagh said: “I want to say there was no panic, but inside of me there’s like, ‘come on, we really, we really need to nail our roles here’ and stuff like that.
“But no, like I said in the interview, we know in ourselves, in and around the team, how good of a how good of a team we are. And if we apply ourselves, get the accuracy right, and do what we do at training, bring it to a pitch with the same passion that Italy’s always had, then results like today will happen.
“Hopefully, going forward, we just keep on creating more and more history.”
“I’m the proudest person here”
Former Italy captain Sergio Parisse was beaming with pride as he watched on, saying: “I’m the proudest person here, because I know what it’s been to play against big teams, fighting, not getting the result.”
Speaking directly to Lynagh, he added: “You make all the supporters and all the young players really believe that this Italian team can win games, and can earn the respect that you earned today.”
Italy travel to Cardiff on Saturday, March 14, as they look to end their campaign with a flourish by beating the vastly improved Wales. However, even if they do pick up their third win of the tournament, they’re unlikely to rise to third place, unless Ireland lose heavily to Scotland without picking up any bonus points, whilst Italy take the full five points in their match.
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