Paolo Odogwu predicts ‘floodgates’ will open for URC underdogs Benetton after ‘mindset’ shift
Benetton wing Paolo Odogwu in action.
Rugby is a sport of all shapes and sizes.
It allows individuals the chance to express their unique qualities on the pitch.
While there are certain skills every professional rugby player needs to be able to perform, it is those who are willing to maximise their strengths and build upon every lesson and experience in order to make it to the cream of the crop who thrive at the top of the sport.
Paolo Odogwu may now be known as a prolific winger who is a powerful runner, yet his entry into the sport was at an entirely different position, and he used this experience as a major advantage in his current game.
Physical approach
He said: “I spent three years playing number eight, which I loved.
“That was when I started really kicking on into rugby. But I was playing number eight almost like a centre, so I would pick up off the base of the scrum and just run towards the backs.
“But I think it still definitely fits with my game now because I like to play physically. I still like to jackal; I like to be in the breakdown.
“So, those kinds of things still kind of stuck with me from playing as a forward and then shifting a bit further out to centre and then ending up on the wing.
“It has given me that rounded view because, especially now, I know as a centre how I want to defend or how I need them to defend, and I know as a winger how I need to defend.”
Odogwu has played for clubs across England, France and Italy.
These experiences have been vital in shaping the 28-year-old winger.
However, his mindset to constantly want to improve and be the best winger he possibly can has got him to this point in his career: a desire to prove his ability.
He said: “I think it’s always been my mindset since I was a kid, probably because I had, especially when I was younger, a few times where I felt that I was overlooked in a team or overlooked.
“So, I wanted to – my kind of mantra after that became, don’t give them a reason not to pick you.
“So, if there’s anything that they can pick out of my game that they’re like, ‘Oh, I’m not very good at that’, but then go and focus on that thing.
“Obviously every individual player has their strengths and some stuff, like I’m, for example, I’m not the tallest winger, so if I’m in an aerial contest with the guy who’s six foot four, like against James Lowe. I might not win it, but if he catches it and he comes down, I will tackle him, and I can jackal the ball; so that’s my way of working around it.”
While Odogwu has sought to consistently develop through his career, the same can be said of his current employers.
Benetton have come a long way over the past 15 years.
The club, based in the Veneto region of northern Italy, were battling in the bottom half of the numerous different iterations of what we now know as the URC for many years; however, they could qualify for the play-offs for the second season in a row.
Yet, this is just the minimum aim for both Odogwu and his club.
He said: “I think the main, the most obvious thing for me is when we’re in training and when we’re talking about things like being in the play-offs. It’s not like it’s a long-distance dream anymore because we’ve done it already.
“This year, we didn’t have the best start, but then we started building. Before the Stormers game, we won four in a row.
“If we win, we’re in the play-offs, and that’s where you want to be, especially as, probably five or ten years ago, maybe less, teams were looking at Benetton as an easy win.
“So now it’s we’ve changed the mindset, and we’ve changed the whole perception.
URC Team of the Week: Jordie Barrett ‘makes a mockery’ of Leo Cullen’s ‘bizarre’ decision
“We want to be one of those top teams in the URC and for teams to worry about us. We don’t want to be a team that alternates between making the play-offs one year and missing them the next. We want to be there consistently.
“If you hit your form at the right time and you find your stride, you can win, but we just need to get to that right because in the past couple of years we’ve been making it to that big game, like the Challenge Cup semi-final, the URC quarter-final last year, and the Champions Cup last 16 this season.
“We’re just tripping up at that last hurdle. Once we finally get that big one, I think it’ll be such a moment; that’s when the floodgates will open, and that’s when we’ll be like, Okay, we’ve arrived.”
Benetton require a win in their final regular-season fixture to ensure they qualify for the play-offs.
They must travel to Cork to face Munster, not an easy task at any point in the season, but even more so when the Irish province also needs to win their final fixture against the Italian side to secure their own play-off and Champions Cup ambitions.
Odogwu will be fully focused on extending Benetton’s season this weekend; however, his recent form, especially his performance against current URC holders Glasgow Warriors at the weekend, could help add to his five international caps when Italy tours Namibia and South Africa.
He said: “I think obviously I’d love to go, but at the moment I’m just focusing on finishing the season because last year I didn’t finish the season, and this year, obviously, I was out for three months in the middle of the year.
“I wasn’t coming back from this injury with any worry about my performance. If anything, I was coming back hungrier because I was like, I need to prove myself all over again.
“But then coming back in and then getting named man of the match against Edinburgh, my first game back, I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve still got it’.
“I’m just trying to consistently build that momentum, and I want to show that I am one of the best wingers in the country, and if that leads to me getting picked for the summer tour, then it does, but if it doesn’t, then I can relax in the summer, start my pre-season and then go back into next year.
“I’m just trying to see where we can get as a club and try and make some history with the club, and then afterwards, whatever comes, whatever the benefits of that are, I’ll take them.”
Odogwu would love nothing more than a strong finish to his second season with Benetton, with the potential still of making history with the club.
The 28-year-old winger has experienced nothing but growth with the club since signing in 2023.
As he and his teammates made history with Benetton by becoming the first Italian club to reach the knockouts of the Champions Cup this season, he is hungry for more.
This, along with his love for his new life in Italy, helped encourage him to sign a contract extension to 2027 with Benetton.
He said: “For me, honestly, I want to stay at Benetton.
“I want to build; help be a part of that upward movement because I think it’d be such a cool thing to be part of that squad.
“Become the first one to win something and become the team to do all these firsts.
Lofty ambitions
“I was already part of the team to be one of the first ones to be in the Champions Cup knockouts, which was really cool. So, I want to keep knocking off those firsts and keep building the sport.
“Obviously, we have such a good squad that we just need to get it to just click perfectly, and then we’ll be on the up. So, I think definitely for me I want to stay as long as everything goes well and it keeps building.
“I also want to get to 50 caps because I’ve never gotten to 50 caps with one team.”
Odogwu will be another step closer to that aim, making his 20th appearance for the club should he play in their final fixture against Munster this weekend.
He and the club will be determined to bring their best to Ireland this weekend as they look to secure a second consecutive play-off finish.