Since Italy took part in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations in 2000, they have reluctantly received the wooden spoon 18 times, including in each of the previous eight editions.
There have been ups and downs, but just one win in the last 42 games in the Championship tells an undeniably tragic story. All in all, 2023 was another challenging year, but when we look a little deeper into its performance and future talent, there are signs of optimism.
They lost all five games last season, but none by more than 17 points. The average point differential per game is -12, and only once since 2009 has it been better (-7.2 in 2013).
Another encouraging statistic highlights their performance in the second half of the game. Last season they won two games in the second half (against England and Wales at Twickenham), drew another (against France) and lost two by close margins (7 against Ireland, 6 against Scotland).
This tenacity and 80-minute fight will definitely start to pay off, and his record of one win in 42 games will start to be corrected as he gets the results he deserves.
play style
In recent years, Italy has significantly developed its talent pool, especially in ball-carrying options. This can be seen in their willingness to keep possession of the ball and trust these players to advance the team on the pitch. 33% of carries in the 2023 Guinness Six Nations were dominated, the highest rate of any team.
In the 2023 Championship, they chose to work their way from their own 22 56% of the time. This is the highest rate of any team. They supported this tactic with good use of the ruck, recording the fastest average ruck speed (3 seconds) of the 2023 Six Nations campaign.
of Azzurri I also thought about giving the ball some width. In 60% of the phases, the ball moved more than 10 meters (horizontally) from the last rack. This is the highest percentage of all teams.
Italy’s new head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, is currently in charge, but recent comments suggest that this attacking bravado could be tempered by a bit more of a defensive outlook.
“I like the ideas that Italy have put out on the pitch lately. I also have an attacking philosophy and I don’t think I’m going to change that. We need to get better at exploiting it in certain areas. What we can build on is this base, a defense with a more realistic escape from our own half, and finally an attack,” he said. Ta. rugby pass.
strengths and weaknesses
Italy showed good collision strength in the 2023 Six Nations, achieving a high advantage in both tackles (8%) and carries (33%). That said, his gain-line success rate (48%) was the lowest of any team in the championship, as was his rate of committing two or more tacklers per carry (49%).
Due to their tendency to attack from deep, they were unable to advance regularly into the opposition’s 22-man field (8.4 per game – second fewest) and struggled to convert the chances they did get into points. With an average of 1.7 points in 22 games, they were the second-worst team behind Wales (1.6).
One potential flaw in Italy’s attack last year was its predictability. 92% of plays took place openside, the highest percentage of any team, with 60% also playing wideside beyond 10 meters, likely facilitating defense, shutdowns and turnovers. I guess it happened. In fact, only England (14.8) committed more turnovers per game last year than Italy (14.4).
star player
Tommaso Menonchero burst onto the international stage in 2022, playing in all outside back positions. Azzurri Since then. His 2023 season was brutally cut short ahead of the Rugby World Cup due to a biceps injury, but he is back and eager to pick up where he left off.
He has scored five tries and made nine clean breaks in the nine games he has started for Italy so far, beating 23 defenders in those games as well. The 21-year-old also managed to beat six defenders in a brilliant 30-minute cameo against the Springboks in 2022.
In the 2023 Six Nations, Menoncello played 240 minutes and was one of only five players to achieve both gainline success and a dominant carry rate of over 50% (Juan Also Ignacio Brex, Hugh Jones, Yoram Moefana, George North). This elite ball flying all over the pitch could be just what Italy need to start the 2024 season.
To back this up, they have a lot of Grunts up front, and one of the stars in the pack is Danilo Fischetti. The prop gives a powerful blow both offensively and defensively. In the 2023 Championship, he made the most dominant tackles of all players (10) and also beat defenders tied for the most of any prop (eight, same as Ellis Genge).
Italy Six Nations 2024 dates:
February 3: Italy vs England – Stadio Olimpico, Rome
February 11: Ireland v Italy – Aviva Stadium, Dublin
February 25: France vs. Italy – Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille
March 9: Italy v Scotland – Stadio Olimpico, Rome
March 16: Wales v Italy – Cardiff Principality Stadium
Italy Six Nations representative (as of January 30):
forward:
Pietro Ceccarelli (Perpignan, 31 caps)
Danilo Fischetti (Zebre Parma, 36 caps)
Mateo Nocera (Zebre Parma, debutant)
Luca Rizzoli (Zebre Parma, debutant)
Mirco Spagnuolo (Benetton Rugby, debut player)
Giosue Girocchi (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
Gianmarco Lucchesi (Benetton Rugby, 17 caps)
Marco Manfredi (Zebre Parma, 3 caps)
Giacomo Nicotera (Benetton Rugby, 18 caps)
Niccolo Canone (Benetton Rugby, 36 caps)
Edoardo Iacizzi (Benetton Rugby, 6 caps)
Federico Luzza (Benetton Rugby, 49 caps)
Andrea Zambonin (Zebre Parma, 3 caps)
Lorenzo Cannone (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
Riccardo Favret (Benetton Rugby, 1 cap)
Alessandro Izecole (Benetton Rugby, Rookie)
Michele Ramaro (Benetton Rugby, 33 caps)
Sebastian Negri (Benetton Rugby, 52 caps)
Ross Vincent (Exeter, debut)
Manuel Zuliani (Benetton Rugby, 17 caps)
Bucks:
Alessandro Garbisi (Benetton Rugby, 7 caps)
Martin Page Lillo (Lyon, 4 caps)
Stephen Varney (Gloucester, 24 caps)
Tommaso Allan (Perpignan, 79 caps)
Paolo Garbisi (Montpellier, 31 caps)
Juan Ignacio Brex (Benetton Rugby, 30 caps)
Tommaso Menoncello (Benetton Rugby, 12 caps)
Federico Mori (Bayonne, 13 caps)
Marco Zanon (Benetton Rugby, 16 caps)
Pierre Bruno (Zebre Parma, 15 caps)
Ange Capozzo (Stade Toulousain, 16 caps)
Monty Ioane (Lyon 25 caps)
Simone GESI (Zebre Parma, 1 cap)
Lorenzo Pani (Zebre Parma, 5 caps)
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