New President, New Era

The problems with Italian rugby are many and not easily fixed. In Marzio Innocenti Italy now have a president who will be looking at Italian rugby as a long term project. He is someone who has great experience at a regional level and will be particularly focused on investing and improving the domestic setup. Both Innocenti and Franco Smith are clear that Italy require a long term vision if they are to become a true tier one rugby nation and Italian fans have to come to terms with the fact that improvements aren’t going to happen over night. There is no easy fix to these problems. Bringing Parisse back isn’t going to solve it, trusting solely in the current crop of players who are aged 25 or over isn’t going to solve it either. The difference between Italy and other rugby nations is the level of competition exposed to players outside of the professional/national setup. You can blame this on the fact that rugby is not played in schools, you can blame it on the fact that the Italian federation has focused its resources far too heavily on the national and Pro14 franchises or you can blame it on the federations inability to create a competitive domestic tournament. The point is is that none of these problems are solved easily or quickly. Recently rumours have circulated regarding the possibility of Kieran Crowley taking up the reigns of the national team once he leaves Benetton. This isn’t something that I am against in any way but I have my doubts that this change will suddenly get Italy winning. This is why I am still behind the vision of Franco Smith. Smith is trying to circumnavigate these structural problems by exposing young players to international rugby as soon as they enter the professional setup with their Pro14 clubs and some while they are still playing in the Top10. Lets look at some of the players who have been given their international debut by Smith - Fischetti (age 23), Cannone (23), Lucchesi (21), Favretto (19), Stoian (21), Lamaro (23), Varney (20), Garbisi (21), Mori (20) and Trulla (20). Here are 10 young players who under different management may have spent another 4 years developing at a club level with a mindset that performing for their respective clubs was the height of their early ambition. Despite the crushing defeats these players have experienced with Italy they now have an understanding of what it takes physically, tactically and mentally to compete at the top level. Smith will be looking at these young players to go back to their clubs and compete with more experienced players for places in both the starting line-ups of the franchises and the national team. Before any kind of international success is going to occur Italian fans need to look towards the Pro14 franchises for improvement but despite this the long term success of Italian rugby will depend heavily on the Top10. 

Taking over from Conor O’Shea a year early could’ve seen Smith go with an easier route of trying to carry on with a much smaller but more experienced team. He could’ve carried on with Tommaso Allan at fly-half, who was one of Italy’s best players in recent times, but he knows that Italy need a depth of options as key injuries have been such a disruption in the past. Luca Morisi, Giulio Bisegni, Tomasso Boni or Tommaso Benvenuti could’ve all played in the centres while Angelo Esposito, Leonardo Sarto and Jayden Hayward have shown previously that they have the quality to play at highest level. In the forwards Nicola Quaglio, Andrea Lovotti & Simone Ferrari all played consistently under O’Shea but have been sidelined by Smith. At least through these defeats Smith has broadened his pool of internationals giving 13 players debuts and with the majority now having over 5 international caps. Even more importantly he has broadened the amount of internationals that will train together day in, day out at the franchises. 

Benetton

It’s going to be really interesting to see how these battles between the players from O'Shea's era and Smith's era play out. In particular the No. 10 shirt at Benetton. Tommaso Allan is only 28 and has plenty of rugby left in him but Garbisi’s performance will surely see him as first choice. Rumours have been circulating that for this reason Allan will be looking abroad, most likely Harlequins, for a new home at the end of the season. It is unlikely that Allan will be able to unseat Marcus Smith for the No.10 jersey but the move could see Allan transformed to fill the hole left by club hero Mike Brown at full-back. Similarly Michele Lamaro will also be looking to get more game time in a competitive Benetton back-row that already has experienced Italian internationals Set Negri & Braam Steyn in it. 

A real worry for Italy and Benetton is the development of their options at prop. The game against Montpellier was one that Benneton could’ve won but injuries to a host of props left Benetton with weaknesses up front and this cost them set pieces and therefore the game. Along with a host of long term injuries in the department, Marco Riccioni will be leaving at the end of the season to play for Saracens in the English Championship. Whilst I often worry about Italian players moving to England, especially to play in the second tier (Benvenuti at Bristol comes to mind), I actually think this could be a really good decision. He will most likely be playing in the Premiership before long and the coaching and competition he will receive at Saracens will be a much higher level than that of Benetton. Eli Snyman will also be on his way to England (Leicester) at the end of the season leaving a great big hole in the second-row where he has been so brilliant in partnership with Irne Herbst. This does create a glorious opportunity for Federico Ruzza, Niccolo Cannone or Marco Lazzaroni (or even Riccardo Favretto) to stamp their mark for the national team. The front row is the real worry with Quaglio retiring at the end of the season, Federico Zani, Cherif Traore & Simone Ferrari out injured and Tiziano Pasquali looking far away from the player he once was. Combined that is nearly 100 caps of international experience Benetton are without. For this reason Benetton have looked abroad for replacements such as Argentine international prop Nahuel Chaparro who will join at the end of the season. Franco Smith will also enjoy seeing a few more of his countrymen at Benetton with Andries Coetzee, Carl Wegner and Rhyno Smith joining Corniel Els as additions this year. 

Zebre

Over in Parma it is a slightly different situation with many of Zebre’s internationals expecting to return to positions in the starting line-up. They will however have many players on the fringes of the Italian squad looking to compete for the places such as Pierre Bruno, Marco Manfredi, Renato Giammarioli, Antonio Rizzi and Michelangelo Biondelli all looking to gain more playing time in the hope of a call up to the national team. Michael Bradely’s team have looked much better this campaign even when many key players have been absent due to international duty. His reward was being voted the Pro14 coach's coach of the year. The Rainbow Cup provides a real opportunity to see how far Zebre have developed once Bradley has a number of first team players returning from injury and the national team. The return of Giovanni Licata will be a huge boost to Zebre if he can pick up from where he left off with his ability to offload suiting the game Bradley wants to play. The return of club captain Tommaso Castello however goes on as he won’t be available till the start of the new season after 2 years out with a knee injury. 

Restructuring

One of the most important developments at Zebre looks to be the desire of Innocenti to relieve the Italian Federation of Zebre’s financial dependence on it. With a couple of domestic and international buyers looking to take over the club it would allow Innocenti to divert much needed resources to the domestic Top10. There was the possibility of Zebre moving to Padua, Veneto where they would not only find themselves in close proximity to Pro14 rivals Benetton but also in a city with a well established rugby base. Petrarca Padova are Italy’s 3rd most successful club team and the ambitions of their president Alessandro Banzato have recently turned towards the Pro14. Banzato’s history in the steel business make him and Petrarca an attractive option to take the financial reigns off the Italian Federation. Since these rumours were circulated the FIR have confirmed that Zebre will stay in Parma for the short term but many other options remain on the table for Innocenti. There is the possibility of keeping Zebre in Parma where they have just started to establish themselves and looking to add a third franchise to the Pro14. This option comes with both its benefits and its drawbacks. Firstly, without the backing of someone like Banzato the financial burden of Zebre would remain with the federation. This is something that Innocenti is determined to avoid but on the other hand a 3rd team would allow for Innocenti’s vision of a franchise in the central/southern region of Italy. A team in Rome would be an attractive prospect and would certainly be a step in attracting more players into the sport from regions outside the north. While politically and financially there is a lot of manoeuvring available, the bottom line of this is whether Italy has the player depth that would deserve a 3rd team in the Pro14. If Benetton and Zebre suddenly start performing really well this could be a possibility but an easier option may be to look and divert more money into the Top10. 

The domestic league in Italy has been long suffering and was often ignored by previous presidents. In many peoples minds this lack of attention is seen as the catalyst for Italy’s decline on the national stage. If Innocenti finds enough money in the federations budget then he will want to revolutionise the domestic league into an NBA style super league. Without relegation or promotion the clubs in the league will have more financial security and an NBA style draft of young players will also make the league more of a level playing field. This may come with the stipulation of scrapping the ability for Benetton and Zebre to recruit permit players from the Top10, which has been so beneficial to both sides during the international windows. Here lies the conundrum which Innocenti faces. Creating a balanced infrastructure where both the Pro14 clubs and the Top10 league are competitive. 

The performance of both Zebre and Benetton in round 1 of the Rainbow Cup showed what an impact the young players can have now that they have international experience under their belts. But it was the young lions of Benetton that really put a marker down for the future. Garbisi looked at ease at the level of Pro14 rugby, while Cannone, Lamaro, Favretto and Marco Zanon all performed like seasoned internationals. If they can maintain this level then it could open up the possibility of older players such as Marco Barbini, Esposito, Sarto and Benvenuti moving to Top10 clubs and improving the level of competition there. These are all players who have a vast amount of experience who would have a massive impact in driving up the standard and interest of the Top10 and would therefore be more valuable than if they kept roles as backup players at Benetton. The impact Tito Tebaldi has had at Petraca Padova cannot be underestimated and if there is the financial incentive then I can’t see a reason why more former internationals can’t follow suite. 

It may be that Innocenti is unable to implement all of his plans to restructure Italian rugby and it may be another few years until we see Italy competing at the highest level but as an Italy fan I feel a fresh wave of optimism brought on by Innocenti’s appointment and the vision both he and his team have for Italian rugby.