Italy enter Saturday’s Six Nations match against England with a growing belief they can secure a historic first victory over their championship rivals, a sentiment unthinkable just decades ago.
Former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio recounted a trip to Italy in the early 1990s, witnessing a chaotic match between Milan and L’Aquila. “I had an offer from Italy, so I went to watch Milan against L’Aquila,” he said, as reported by Rugby World. “David Campese was playing and I think he touched the ball once – by mistake. It was absolute chaos, more akin to murderball than rugby.”
Italy joined the Six Nations in 2000, initially stunning defending champions Scotland with a 34-20 win. But, this was followed by a difficult period, including an 80-23 defeat to England in 2001, which remains the largest losing margin in the tournament’s history. Over the subsequent 26 seasons, the Azzurri have been awarded the Wooden Spoon in 18 of them – a 70% rate. A particularly challenging stretch saw them fail to win a single Six Nations match between 2015 and 2022, a 36-match losing streak that Wales will not surpass until 2031.
One memorable, and problematic, moment came in 2009 when Italy were forced to play flanker Mauro Bergamasco at scrum-half due to a series of injuries. Then-head coach Nick Mallett explained the difficult situation: “I was between a rock and a hard place. I didn’t have another option. I even tried to talk Alessandro Tronco [assistant coach] into putting the jersey on again. He said, ‘No way, not fit enough.’” Bergamasco himself described the internal struggle, stating, “About 50% of the team didn’t agree with the decision to move me to number 9. One team-mate said, ‘What are you f**king doing? Why did you say yes?’”
Despite these struggles, Italy has seen moments of individual brilliance, particularly through captain Sergio Parisse, widely regarded as a world-class player. While holding the unfortunate record for most international losses, Parisse consistently emphasized resilience. “Every time I lost, as a captain it was crucial for me to never give up and show the team that we could go again,” he said. He expressed optimism about the current state of Italian rugby, highlighting the emergence of players like Tommaso Menoncello and Ange Capuozzo. “I’m very positive about the future of Italian rugby,” Parisse stated. “Italy have gained the credibility of a team capable of playing at a high level.”
England are set to field a significantly altered team for their match against Italy, with nine changes made to the starting lineup, according to reports from the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, The Times, and ESPN. This follows criticism from head coach Steve Borthwick regarding the team’s standards. The Middle East conflict is also reported to be impacting the fixture.
