Italy Six Nations Guide
Coach: Gonzalo Quesada
Captain: Michele Lamaro
Overview
So, was last year a flash in the pan or a sign that Italy’s days as the annual whipping boys of the Championship are a thing of the past? Although they finished fifth in the 2024 Six Nations compared to fourth in 2013 when bookending that Six Nations with home wins over France and Ireland, in reality last season was their most competitive campaign. They broke new ground by finishing it off with three Championship games in a row unbeaten.
The Azzurri could easily have done much better too. Despite losing their chief attacking spark Ange Capuozzo the day before the game through illness, Italy’s 24-27 loss on the opening day in Rome against England was the narrowest ever margin in a Test match between the two nations and also the Azzurri’s highest points total against England.
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Their 36-0 round two defeat in Dublin was an outlier and actually underlines how well Ireland played that day before Italy were denied a first ever win away to France in a 13-13 draw in Lille when Paolo Garbisi first slipped and then struck the post with a hurriedly-taken penalty in what was the last kick of the game. It should have been retaken too for, as well as French water carriers being allowed on the pitch, home players twice encroached.
Next up, Italy recovered from a 22-10 deficit in the Stadio Olimpico to beat Scotland 31-29 thanks to second-half tries by Louis Lynagh and Stephen Varney and the boot of Garbisi; though the most impressive aspect of the victory was the composed defence which kept Scotland at arm’s length despite waves of late attacks.
Their much-improved defence and tries by Monty Ioane and Lorenzo Pani, along with the boots of Garbisi and Martin Page-Relo, laid the foundations in Cardiff, when Wales were flattered by the 24-21 final scoreline to the visitors. With that, Italy ended an eight-year run of wooden spoons.
The previous year had been a frustrating last campaign under Kieran Crowley, when the Azzurri eschewed orthodox exits in hardly kicking the ball, played with plenty of width and ambition, running from anywhere on the pitch. Great to watch but it meant they were repeatedly authors of their own destruction.
Gonzalo Quesada, the former Pumas outhalf, brought more pragmatism, especially from their own half, while retaining much of the Azzurri’s flair. It would have been foolish not to, given the increasing maturity of Garbisi as well as the firepower of Tommaso Menoncello, the 21-year-old Player of the Championship, and Juan Ignacio Brex in midfield and the cutting edge of Capuozzo and Monty Ioane.
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Yet their form since has been a little disappointing. A strong selection wilted in the final half-hour amid the heat and humidity of Apia in losing to Samoa (25-33) before Italy recovered to beat Tonga (36-14) and Japan (42-14), when the returning Capuozzo was on fire.
However last November they couldn’t live with the flair of bogey side Argentina when losing by a record 50-18 to Los Pumas. A week later in Genoa the Azzurri lost captain Michele Lamaro through injury after two minutes and trailed 17-6 after the 50-minute mark before a penalty try and a converted Alessandro Fusco try gave them a hard-fought 20-17 win.
The Azzurri then started better and did show plenty of spirit against the All Blacks in Turin but still went down 29-11. The jury is still out.
Player to watch: Ange Capuozzo
It’s hard to look beyond the fleet-footed and elusive full-back/winger whose stunning break from his own half and pass inside created Edoardo Padovani’s memorable try at the Principality Stadium in 2022 and Garbisi’s match-winning conversion. In kick-starting Italian rugby’s renaissance, Capuozzo’s impact was akin to Brian O’Driscoll on Ireland in Paris a quarter of a century ago and the 25-year-old remains Italian’s attacking talisman.
Enjoying a better run of games with Toulouse this season, Capuozzo has scored nine tries in 16 games. There were doubles in the Champions Cup home wins over Ulster and Leicester, when he gained a mammoth 176 metres, the most by any Toulouse player in a Champions or Challenge Cup game since Opta began recording this data.
Title odds: 125/1.
Last three finishes: 6th, 6th, 5th.
Fixtures: Saturday v Scotland, Murrayfield (kick-off 2.15pm Irish time); Saturday, February 8th v Wales, Stadio Olimpico (kick-off 2.15pm Irish time); Sunday, February 23rd v France, Stadio Olimpico (kick-off 3pm Irish time); Sunday, March 9th v England, Twickenham (kick-off 3pm Irish time); Saturday, March 15th v Ireland, Stadio Olimpico (kick-off 2.15pm Irish time)
Prospects: Although they are 125/1 to win the title, and Wales are as short as 45/1, contrastingly Warren Gatland’s side are 4/5 favourites for a second successive wooden spoon whereas Italy are 6/5 to finish last. This is probably because Italy have beaten Wales on their last two visits to Cardiff and host them in Rome in round two.
Viewed in that light, another wooden spoon would be a huge anticlimax while anything better than fifth would be welcome affirmation that last season was not a false promise of a new dawn.
