We need to talk about Italy

I will be interested to see whether Italy, fresh from claiming another Six Nations Wooden Spoon, can improve at all in the forthcoming Autumn Nations Cup.

Having been admitted to the Six Nations in 2000, Italy have been, more often than not, the perennial tail-enders of the competition, more often than not ending up with the Wooden Spoon.

There have been successes – they have beaten each of the other participating nations (except England) at least once during that 20 year period and, for the first 15 years so you could always expect, at the very least, a hugely competitive performance from the Italian pack.

The last 5 seasons, however, have been calamitous – and Italy have now lost their last 20 Six Nations games.

Inevitably this had led for calls for the Azzurri to be cut loose from the competition, with demands that either Georgia be brought in to replace them or that the tournament reverts to a Five Nations format. 

I’m not sure that either of the above solutions is ideal and actually believe that the Italians have been let down somewhat by the other participating unions.

We keep hearing about what a “jewel” we have in the northern hemisphere and how special the Six Nations is but, rather than encourage the Italians to be competitive, it appears to be that the other nations have been more than happy to see the Azzurri as the perennial whipping boys, ensuring at least one relatively easy game each season. And the biennial jolly to Rome for the blazers is always very pleasant, of course.

It may be counter-intuitive, but I think that what Italy actually needs is financial and coaching assistance from its competitors in the Six Nations to raise standards throughout their structure, including right at the top. Only then will the Italians be able to be consistently competitive, which, although perhaps a tad inconvenient for some, is what the competition needs. Teams ought to, at the very least, be travelling to Rome with the very real possibility of being beaten.

Why should the other nations help Italy? Well, to do otherwise will see Italy continue to fail which will inevitably be to the detriment of the competition as a whole. You are, as they say, only as strong as your weakest link, after all.

If Italy are not to be helped then, alternatively, there could be a properly funded second tier competition with promotion and relegation to and from the Six Nations but, frankly, there seems to be zero appetite for something quite so radical.

The Six Nations needs to grow, not contract, and the hiatus offered by the Covid-19 pandemic ought to have been the catalyst for a proper re-think, with a far less parochial and a far more progressive approach. 

I appreciate that this won’t necessarily sit well with the “if it ain’t broke” brigade. To many the competition may not look broken but the continued struggles of one of the participating nations means that the Six Nations is, effectively, holed beneath the water line.

The powers that be, however, seem unwilling or unable to acknowledge that fact. I am therefore not expecting much to change anytime soon.

Total Flanker – the older I get, the better I was