Italian rugby 2014-2015 “The year of destiny”
Sport can mirror a country, and with Italy in the grip of economic and political turmoil a malaise has also overcome its two major international team sports. As the Gazetta dello Sport digests the disaster of Brazil, another world cup debacle looms over the horizon, for Italy’s beleaguered rugby team. A run of 10 defeats, including demoralising losses to Japan and Fiji makes for a stark assessment of where the Azurri now rank in world rugby.
A member of the 6 Nations since 2000 Italy has still to really establish itself, other than being a great trip for fans. Victories have been sparse but, there is now a palpable sense of decline. Part of the problem lies with the structure of the domestic game. The two top teams; Benetton Treviso and Zebre play in the Guinness Pro-12, but, neither threatens the top of the league. Below them is the grandly named, “Campionato nazionale di eccellenza” (championship of excellence) composed of semi-professional teams that used to make up the backbone of the Italian national side. These teams still attract high levels of sponsorship, but see themselves as independent entities and have no designated role in the development of players to feed the two professional sides or the national team.
For any organisation to succeed, it’s the quality of its people that counts the most and the structure of Italian rugby is abjectly failing to provide the high quality players the country needs. Italy lacks the player depth needed to maintain its current vaunted position. The F.I.R. Federazione Italiana Rugby, like all unions has its detractors, but it’s responsible for safeguarding the development of the game of rugby in Italy. Simply put, it appears as if the F.I.R. is unable to fulfill that singular obligation. F.I.R. president, Alfredo Gavazzi, and his vision for the future of the Italian game,” progetta statura” – that only big guys can play rugby. The academy in Tirrenia is a place where the boys don’t become men but only machines, a place where they train all the muscles except one: the brain, by focusing on building a physique – it ignores the other skills, it fails to build a culture of attacking rugby, managing a game and the development of a style unique to Italy. Gavazzi knows that he also is running out of time. Italy has no international rugby coaches or world-class executives, some of the country’s oldest clubs have been marginalized, the standard of refereeing is bleak and the testing Autumn internationals could break his hold on power. There is a pressing need for the F.I.R. and the national team to take a different direction.
After the travails of the summer Jacques Bruni must realise that he too is running out of time. Bruni has never been one to look for the easy option, hard work and discipline have been the core values he has instilled into his team, but they are struggling for credibility. Italy are unravelling and the portents are not good. Their talisman the wonderful Sergio Parisse is struggling, even his legendary durability beginning to fade. Too many players ply their trade away from Italy, who can the local young players look up to? Tomaseo Allan, the “new Dominquez” will be playing in the French D2, why not for Zebre? Bruni still has at home, the precocious Michelle Campagno and the lion hearted Qunitin Geldhuys but otherwise, to watch the rest of his players Bruni will need a Sky TV subscripition.
The baggage of such a depressing run of defeats will be weighing heavily on the team, and Bruni has very little talent to bring in to try and freshen up an increasingly jaded squad. Even the “Emerging Italy” team were heavily beaten by Georgia in the summer. Treviso and Zebre will struggle this season, the Guiness Pro-12 will be a much tougher proposition with the changes to european qualification. Both have trawled the Southern hemisphere for largely fringe Super rugby players to augment their sqauds but, they will simply not be able to compete against the resources of the Irish or even the Welsh regions.
In the Autumn Italy faces Samoa, Argentina and South Africa and Bruni and perhaps Gavazzi will need at least one victory to hold on. Probably the Samoan game will be the one that they target, but it will not be easy. Italy will have to play very well to secure a much needed victory.
Italy’s much heralded and universally welcomed entry into the 6 Nations was to show the rugby world that emerging rugby nations could eat at the “Top table” of international rugby and give hope to others like Georgia, Romania and Russia. Yet, with Italy’s apparent collapse of standing perhaps it’s time to consider promotion and relegation from the 6 Nations. After all there has to be accountability for poor results and the potential ignominy of relegation might be the incentive Italy needs to put its house in order before it’s too late.
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