Rounds 1 & 2 - Wales and France (Disappointment and Redemption):
After the first two rounds of the Six Nations Italy find themselves comfortably nestled into their usual position at the bottom of the table. 0 Championship points from the opening two games may be disappointing for most teams but Italian fans have grown used to looking at performances rather than results. Although the Wales match was as bad as it gets, a much improved performance in Paris has stoked the small flame of promise that has burnt since Franco Smith's appointment. Italy now return to Rome for their first home fixture of the tournament against old rivals Scotland. The positives of the France game has given Italy high hopes going into the Scotland game, but with with high hopes comes high pressure. The stark contrast between the performances suggests that the squad are starting to apply Smith's game plan and it is pleasing to see the team play with more fluidity and confidence on the ball. However Scotland are a wounded animal who will see the next game as a must win match. If Italy are to win they will have to make an even greater step up than the one made between the first two games.
Round 1 - Wales/Galles:
You'll have to excuse me for my lack of analysis regarding the Wales game. It was such a painful experience the first time around that I was unable to put myself through it again, even for the purpose of analysis. The game highlighted the extreme gulf in class between the two teams. Even in the spells when Italy were playing well they didn't look like troubling the Welsh. But in terms of the Italian project this game may have been a blessing in disguise. Italy should use this as a low point that should not be reached again. Playing against the defending champions, in Cardiff, on the first day of the championship, with a new coach who has a new philosophy was always going to be difficult. Smith didn't shy away from a bold game plan with Canna starting at 12 as a second playmaker. Italy showed endeavour to play the ball deep and cause Wales problems out wide and this gave us glimpses of what Smith is trying to do. Despite these brief glimpses of hope the Welsh overpowered us, especially at the breakdown, and Italy's own errors gave Wales far too much possession and territory. Although this was incredibly frustrating to watch as a fan, it will have been useful to the coaching staff as Wales were kind enough to expose nearly all of Italy's weaknesses.
Despite the scoreline there were some positives from the match, primarily the performance of debutant Niccolo Cannone who had an incredible debut playing against one of the best second rows in world rugby. Federico Ruzza and David Sisi's injuries made the second row look like a real problem position going into the tournament but Cannone has made such an impact that it will be a struggle for Ruzza to get back into the team. Another positive was the performances of Giosue Zilocchi who looked assured at prop while Danilo Fischetti impressed on his debut off the bench.
Round 2 - France/Francia:
Fast forward a week and Italy faced the test of a French team high on confidence after defeating England on the first weekend. After such a battering in the the first match some were surprised that Smith made only one change to the starting lineup but I thought this was the right choice. If Smith is going to install Italy with a new DNA then there will have to be patience in allowing players to learn from their mistakes. The game against Wales taught Italy a lot in terms of what they were doing wrong but gave them little opportunity to show what they could do in attack. Over the past few years Italy have so often been on the back foot in games that when they get possession they look clueless and panicked. Working on the training pitch can help but having possession in the Six Nations is very different thing. This is why the France game, although a loss, was so important. Italy had spells in the game where not only did they have possession but they had the ball in an attacking area of the pitch. As the game went on Italy looked more assured with the ball and started to play the game at their own tempo, implementing their own game plan rather than reacting to their opponents. I found myself feeling relaxed when Italy had the ball, something I haven't felt in a Six Nations match for a very long time. This is what Italy fans want. We want to be able to enjoy watching our team play instead of constantly being on edge, waiting for a player to make a mistake.
In both games Italy lost the battle of the first five minutes causing both matches to be an uphill struggle. The best example of this was in the France match where Italy kicked deep, kept France in their own 22 and forced them into a clearance kick. This gave Italy possession in the French half within the first 30 seconds (all good so far). But then from a resulting messy ruck Callum Braley picked up the ball up, looked for a pass, took a step back, looked again and then passed the ball. In the Premiership or Pro14 a scrum-half might have time to take a step but in the Six Nations, against a French defence coached by Shaun Edwards, this just allowed the defence to cross the game line. This hesitation from Braley meant France were able to counter-ruck and the momentum of the game shifted. Moments like this within the first few minutes of the game are massive. Immediately the pressure was on Italy and a penalty was conceded allowing France to take the lead. This situation highlighted two of the key problems Italy faced during the opening weekends. The first is controlling the breakdown when in possession and the second is Braley not quite being on the same wavelength as the rest of the side. Within the first 13 minutes Italy were 13 points down and from that point on they knew they would be chasing the game. This is particularly disappointing when we knew (from their match with England) that France's high intensity style of defence would cause them to tire towards the end of the match. This turned out to be true with the second half arguably being dominated by the Italians. It may be that these slow starts are occurring while the team adjust to a new style of play but it is something that Italy will have to improve on quickly if they are to beat Scotland.
I thought the game against France is best summarised when looking at the performance of Tomasso Allan. On the whole I was really impressed with Allan but a number of medium mistakes (not small but not quite large) ruined a lot of the hard work. With Braley still adjusting to the team and Carlo Canna's inexperience of playing outside centre, a lot of pressure has fallen on Allan. This was increased by Braley's reluctance to box kick which meant Allan was constantly having to kick from well within his own goal area. Despite the circumstances Allan rose to the challenge and his offload for Matteo Minozzi's try was world class. After being given a horrible pass from Jake Polledri, Allan's awareness that France had come up quickly meant he knew he just needed to get the ball wide for Italy to score. His ability to spin and wriggle his arms free created the try and he slotted the conversion for good measure. The next few minutes saw Allan win a kicking battle against the French eventually resulting in his penalty which brought Italy within 3 points. These two phases of play gave Italy some much needed momentum but then from the resulting restart Allan's clearing kick was kicked straight into touch. This mistake was a key moment and it allowed France to get straight back into the game. They didn't need many phases to gain a penalty which swung the advantage right back in their favour. From the resulting restart Allan's kick was way too deep and he was fortunate that Ntamack didn't let the ball go dead (this happened again before half time). Instead Ntamack kicked to Bellini on the halfway line, the place he could've had a scrum if he had allowed Allan's kick to roll out. Maybe Ntamack was saving Allan's blushes as part of the fly-halves union but either way these mistakes highlighted two key points from the game. Firstly, these individual errors from Italian players are costly but you hope they can be easily remedied. Secondly, it needs to be remembered that France made a lot of mistakes in the game and still managed to win comfortably. If the conditions were better and Ntamack had his kicking boots on then it could've been 42 - 22, a much more imposing scoreline.
One of the big positives from the France performance was the back three of Jayden Hayward, Matteo Minozzi and Mattia Bellini. With Hayward restored at full back and Minozzi moved to the wing Italy looked a much greater threat. France very rarely kicked for touch as they knew the Italian lineout would be strong. This tactic worked in the sense that Italy only had one lineout within the first 50 minutes. However, the Italian back three performed well counter attacking the French tactic by making a combined total of 277 metres compared to just 152 for the French. Hayward's kicking in general looked assured and his high kicks for a chasing Bellini often helped relieve the pressure when Italy needed field territory. Minozzi seemed a lot more comfortable with his role on the wing and grabbed yet another Six Nations try for his tally. I was especially pleased with how Bellini looked with ball in hand. He was constantly a threat going forward and it was a pleasure to see him running with such confidence. His try in the final few moments was just reward for his work rate throughout both matches.
Carlo Canna was another player who really stood out from the rest over the two games. His defence has been surprisingly good despite being the target of both oppositions big ball carriers. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the France game was how Canna was used as a ball carrier from the lineout. Throughout the game I was trying to work out what the thinking was behind this. Maybe this was a ploy to get the opposition defence thinking he would carry before Canna could throw one of his late offloads, something which he does so well for Zebre. Unfortunately this didn't happen but it could be that Italy are saving this tactic for the Scotland game when they have the greatest chance of winning. Canna also contributed at the breakdown by being a nuisance with his thin frame and long reach. Although this did result in him giving away a couple of penalties I thought the majority of the decision were harsh. His centre partnership with Luca Morisi hasn't quite clicked yet, especially in defence where their line has often been crooked. In attack the pair seem out of sorts with Canna often missing Morisi when looking to counter. Giulio Bisegni could provide Canna with a more trusted partner in the midfield but I think Smith will be faithful to Morisi against Scotland.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect over both games was how the young forwards have hit the ground running. Previously mentioned debutant Cannone had an amazing performance against the Welsh and already looks to be comfortable on the biggest stage. It was interesting to see him being used as the link man between the forwards and the backs in the France game. It has been an amazing year for the young Florentine lock who has made the leap from the Italian Top12 to the Six Nations and this week was rewarded with a permanent contract at Benetton. Another sign of optimism came from the performances of the young Italian props. Zilocchi impressed over both matches with his work at the scrum and with his defensive hits, while young substitute props Danilo Fischetti and Marco Riccioni looked a threat when brought off the bench. A mention also must be made for Giovanni Licata who looked impressive off the bench with his range of great passes and offloads. All of this will be a relief to Italian fans who were wondering whether the step up for the young players would be too much. It has to be said that the young players were backed up by big performances from the elder pair of Dean Budd and Luca Bigi in the France game. Budd's performance in particular will have pleased Smith with Italy's second row options already diminished by injuries before Alessandro Zanni was lost in the warm up. Although Steyn's performances haven't been as brilliant as expected, he has played his part often unseen. The highlight for me was towards the end of the France game where he corrected the referee at the scrum. Having initially awarded a free kick for early engagement, Steyn reminded the referee that it was the second occurrence of this offence and therefore needed to be a penally. The referee was quick to correct himself.
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| Callum Braley |
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| Stephen Varney |
Round 3 Preview - Scotland/Scotzia:
The rest weekend comes at just the right time for Italy. The squad has had little time training with Smith and if the improvements over the first two weeks of the championship are replicated during the two weeks leading up to Scotland then Italy will be in a really good place. Smith has kept 19 of the Italian based players with the national squad while the rest went to play for their clubs. However due to the postponement of Benetton's match with the Dragons last weekend (Storm Dennis) it is likely he will have had even more time with the Benetton players. For some players this may give them an advantage but for players returning from injury, such as Ruzza and Marco Zanon, it would've been good to get some game time.
Playing at home will undoubtedly bring out a different Italy. Not just because of the fans but also because of the refereeing (before I go into this I want to make it clear that I know I am biased as an Italian fan and I know that I will always feel hard done by when a referee makes a borderline decision against the Italians). From the first two rounds it is clear that in the heat of the moment the referee will most often side with the home team when a call is close. I feel like referees know Italy are the underdogs and therefore look more closely for offences. Although Serin's quick tap try last weekend was a thing of beauty, I asked myself why the penalty against Fischetti was awarded. Did he release the player after the tackle? Yes. Was he on his feet? Yes. Was he supporting his own body weight? Yes. Now all of those points are arguable but I just feel that against the bigger teams referees assume they are playing the game legally. That being said, if the Italians can get the crowd off their feet early on in the game then the Stadio Olimpico has the ability to sway the referee on whether decisions like this go against Italy in Rome.
Looking ahead to the Scotland game I think it is unlikely that Smith will make many changes. He only made one change to the team that lost to Wales and it seems like the game plan Smith wants to play is coming together. Wide ranging changes would only disrupt this progress so it will be interesting to see what impact Sergio Parisse's availability has on the starting line-up. What will change is that in the first two games Italy haven't been able to get Sebastian Negri and Jake Polledri consistently carrying the ball over the game line. Against Wales and France they faced Shaun Edwards' current and former defensive setups. Against Scotland they are likely to get more time on the ball and more momentum against a smaller pack. On the flip side the main problem Italy have had during both matches was their ball retention at the breakdown. Their plan of not committing too many players to the breakdown hoped to release ball carriers Polledri & Negri. Unfortunately this didn't work with Italy giving away far too many penalties for not releasing. It was incredibly frustrating to see players constantly being isolated by the opposition. It is hard to know who's fault this is without knowing the tactics discussed. It could be that the backs weren't pulling their weight or it could be that the front five just weren't mobile enough. Either way it is something that they will have to sort out quickly before the Scotland game. Scotland have an extremely mobile pack and will be looking at the breakdown as somewhere they can win the game.
Despite two losses out of two I somehow feel more confident of a win against Scotland than I was at the start of the Championship. Is it because Scotland are without Finn Russell? Maybe. Is it because Scotland look incapable of winning a match? Maybe. Is it because Italy have played better than Scotland over the first two matches? No. Is it because anyone can win when Scotland visit Rome in the Six Nations? Most Likely.
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