Six Nations Preview: Italia
Form: WLLLL
Fixtures: @France, v England, @Ireland, v Scotland, @Wales
Italy Player of the Tournament: Michele Lamaro
One to Watch: Gianmarco Lucchesi
Prediction: 6th
Preview:
Italy come into the 2022 Six Nations off the back of a historic year, but for all the wrong reasons. Italy set a record in 2021 for the most points conceded in a Six Nations campaign, and apart from a narrow victory against Uruguay, they lost all their other games in 2021. Thus, it is difficult to predict any kind of ‘Rinascimento’ for Italy in this year's campaign. Yet, Italians will know that for the first time in a long time, there is a glimmer of hope towards the future. Kieran Crowley, a coach known for taking underdogs to better results as done with Canada and Benetton Treviso, has selected a young side expected to build towards the future. As calls for Italy to be relegated from the Six Nations grow louder, the Azzurri have a lot to play for and a point to prove. Will the rising stars have something to say for it or is 2022 still too early?
Italy’s 12 wins in 22 years of Six Nations indicate that there’s little hope that Italian fans can cling onto, and for this year it’s looking likely that the Azzurri is destined for another salty Wooden Spoon. However, in this article, we’d like to point to some of the indications of a long-term approach that Crowley is taking which may bring real results in a few years time. The key for Italy is that in the last two decades they have never been in the place to compete for more than the occasional win, let alone the Championship, Crowley however has identified the need to take an incremental approach to build for the future. In fact, 23 is the average age of the Italy squad, making them the youngest team in the 2022 Six Nations. The country’s pedigree and inexperience will certainly mean that 2022 is in fact too early for this squad, but a keen eye should try and note whether the buzz around some of the youth is valid and whether improvements in departments of the game such as, attack, defence, breakdown, skill level and fitness have seen real improvements.
Regarding these promising players, the most renowned is Paolo Garbisi who has taken the role of number 10 for Italy by the horns and done a very good job of it so far. Whilst in the past the Italians relied on a strong pack and lacked direction in the backs, they seem to have a long-term solution to run the cutter effectively. Outside him, Mori has impressed as a powerful winger in his debut season for Bordeaux and will likely be a feature throughout this campaign, perhaps even deployed at outside centre. The forwards are headlined by Captain Michele Lamaro, who you should keep a really keen eye on. The Treviso openside is a tackle machine and valiantly led his side in the 30-min lockout of the All Blacks in the Autumn Internationals. Other key players of this pack are Hooker Lucchesi and second-rower Niccolo Cannone, both industrious ball carriers. The department that is looking unusually thin is the front-row, with Marco Riccioni missing, the scrum might be their Achilles heel. The continued absence of Jake Polledri will also be sorely missed.
Italy don’t have a route to success for this Six Nations, but the key for them will be to build on departments of their game. Their defence was much better during the Autumn Internationals, now they must string together a more potent attack, improve their game-management and ability to play 80 minutes. The problems are the same as old, but with Crowley heading a young crop that looks promising, there is reason to believe Italy may be turning the corner, just not quite this year.
Squad Depth (assuming all players are available):
Fischetti / Traore / Nemer
Lucchesi / Faiva / Nicotera
Ceccarelli / Zilocchi / Pasquali / Neculai
Cannone / Ruzza
Fuser / Sisi
Negri / Pettinelli
Lamaro / Zuliani
Steyn / Halafihi
Varney / Braley / Fusco
Garbisi / Da Re / Marin
Ioane
Morisi / Zanon / Lucchin
Brex / Menoncello
Mori / Bruno
Padovani / Capuozzo