Italy go into the Six Nations unranked after their disastrous World Cup defeat, but fly-half Tommaso Allan believes they have the talent to turn things around ahead of Saturday’s match against England in Rome. .
“I think we can do well in this year’s tournament,” he told AFP.
“We have three quarters and forwards who are good with the ball and are really dangerous.
“Now we have a new coach and a new staff,” the 30-year-old added.
“We are a team that is rebuilding. We have to adapt quickly.”
This is the story of a country that has struggled since joining the former Five Nations in 2000.
Italy have never come close to winning the title, their best finish being fourth in 2013 with wins over France and Ireland.
Conversely, they have won the wooden spoon in nine of the past 10 years, winning just 13 of 120 games. Since 2013, they have won twice.
The World Cup was even worse, with a 60-7 defeat to France and, for those of you who are picky, a 96-17 defeat to New Zealand.
“After the World Cup, I joined up with Perpignan as soon as possible,” said Alain. His uncle John Allan represented Scotland in the 1991 Five Nations and World Cup before playing for his native South Africa.
“We wanted to move on. Those two losses were a lesson for the players who thought they were better than us.”
Allan added that although Italy were the “youngest team” at the World Cup, the results speak for themselves.
Since then, manager Kieran Crowley has made way for former Argentina fly-half Gonzalo Quesada, whose achievements include winning a Top 14 title with Stade Français and leading the Jaguars to the Super Rugby final.
“He has a good resume,” Alan says. “Gonzalo has a slightly different perspective than Kieran and is a little more focused, but he also wants us to keep the DNA and that’s a good thing.”
– “We can do it” –
Despite having seven players in the top 14 and three in the English Premiership, Italy also has teams based primarily in Italy, many of which are currently second to Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He plays for second-placed Treviso.
“With Treviso’s success this season, we may be able to take another step forward,” Alan said. “There are 17 players (from Treviso) in the Italian squad. They are confident.”
Allan dismissed calls for Georgia or Portugal to replace Italy in the Six Nations, especially during a nightmarish 36-game losing streak between 2016 and 2022.
“I don’t think about it, I don’t care about it,” he says. “Over the past two years, there has been less talk about this.”
Italy’s ambitions do not yet extend to winning their first Six Nations title, but Allan, who has 79 caps, is keen to pick up at least one win for his country.
“I’d like to win a game in Italy or Rome because the only game I won with the national team (in the Six Nations) was in Scotland in 2015,” he says.
“Hopefully we can play against England or Scotland.
“All the players and coaches have changed a lot. It’s always like this after a World Cup, so we’ll see. But I think we can do it this year.”
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