The last year has been tough for club rugby in Europe in regards to the future of the Heineken Cup. In England and France the clubs that make up the English Premiership and the French LNR (the Ligue Nationale De Rugby representing the Top 14 & Pro D2) served notice to break away from the Heineken Cup next season to play in a new competition called the Rugby Champions Cup.
Their grievances centred upon two points – distribution of revenue in regards to the money not being shared fairly but also the qualification process where the top six of the Premiership & Top 14 qualify for the Heineken Cup yet all of the Pro 12 clubs automatically qualify.
The uncertainty of the future of the competition has led to instability to the Pro 12 especially among the Welsh regions whose funding problems via its benefactor, the Welsh Rugby Union, has led their best players to leave the regions to go to the lucrative clubs of the Top 14. While the focus of the instability in European club rugby has mainly looked at the Welsh regions it has hurt the Italians also.
Last month Italian side Benetton Treviso publicly signalled its intent to exit the Pro 12 when the participation agreement they signed to join the competition in 2009 ran out at the end of the season. On the club’s website the main reason behind their intention to exit the league was in lieu of the “international situation that further prolongs a decision” in regards to the impasse of the future of the Heineken Cup. Another reason mainly related to:
“the absence of certainty about the future forms of organization, participation and regulations relating to the RaboDirect PRO12 league”
Each of the two Italian sides in the Pro 12 had to pay £2.5 million as a participating fee, as well as travel costs to Wales, Ireland & Scotland in their away games. Seeing the Italians have been in the Pro 12 for four years (Treviso for four years while Zebre will have competed for two years after replacing the now defunct Aironi) the Italian Rugby Union (FIR) would have paid £10 million for Treviso to play in the Pro 12.
Treviso was close to leaving the Pro 12 as were the other Italian team Zebre. The FIR president, Alfredo Gavazzi, had recently outlined plans to pull both Treviso and Zebre out of the Pro12 in order to launch an eight-team standalone Italian league. Each Italian side within that league would have an academy set-up.
These plans would have brought obvious benefits yet potential troublesome risks to Italian rugby. The obvious benefit would be the FIR were clearly looking long term to the future of the sport in Italy in the hope that the proposed new stand alone league would produce players within those academies to spring forward the next generation of Italian talent. Already the Italians have several young players in their national side under the age of 21 such as Tommaso Allan, Michele Campagnaro, Tommaso Iannone and Angelo Esposito.
However, the risks within the planned move to exit the Pro 12 would be lack of top-flight competition, which would test Italian sides on a regular basis. A player cannot improve if not regularly facing top sides in a league such as the Irish provinces of Munster, Leinster or Ulster, the Scottish sides of Edinburgh & Glasgow and the four strong Welsh regions of the Ospreys, Dragons, Scarlets and the Cardiff Blues. Without playing these tops teams regularly it would hurt the fortunes of the national team. That is why the FIR had negotiated with the Scots, Irish and Welsh to allow Italy to become an equal partner to their Celtic counterparts in the Pro 12 was so important. It made the Italians feel wanted and the impending confirmation of Italy’s two clubs competing in the Pro 12 for another four years is good for Italian rugby.
Even though Italy at the moment is currently 14th in the world rankings and finished bottom of this year’s Six Nations the future is not gloomy but positive for Italy. Under Jacques Brunel they have started to play a more expansive style of rugby. Sometimes that method of play has gotten them into trouble but the intent, willingness and desire to run it from deep shows something within the Azzurri not seen since being in the Six Nations since 2000.
Whenever they had the ball in their own 22 they would seek to clear their lines so to create some form of breathing space before having to withstand another opposition attack. Now they look to pass & run while trying to look for opportunities to create line breaks. Sometimes they try to use the whole length of the field to stretch the defence in the hope of creating overlaps so to exploit.
Though their handling skills are far from the level of the All Blacks and in the past has let them down their young backs are developing handsomely. Young Treviso centre Michele Campagnaro has been a revelation – throughout the Six Nations he has been enterprising and always looking to attack when having the ball in hand. Moreover, Zebre winger Leonardo Sarto has shown his adept finishing skills scoring two tries in the Six Nations – his 3rd try overall in 7th games.
Both Sarto and Campangaro have managed to develop their talents precisely due to Treviso & Zebre being in the Pro 12 with both players making their debuts in the competition last season. Playing against top opposition has helped unleash a new generation of young Italian backs. Though the forwards are Italy’s main strength the backs is increasingly becoming potent instilled with a sense of purpose for once. Though Jacques Brunel should be widely credited for instilling a positive brand of rugby it is the Pro 12 that is helping Treviso & Zebre to produce young backs for the national team.
Who knows – in five to ten years they could be challenging for the Six Nations or finally go past the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup?
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