Italy head to Twickenham to take on England with questions surrounding their future as part of the Six Nations. However, the Azzurri still have the support to continue to attend this tournament while building a future

In Hell, Dante wrote about the nine Circles of Hell. It might not be so far-fetched to say there is also a tenth, where one is destined to spend eternity as Italy’s defensive coach.

Marius Goosen has played a role with the Azzurri for a somewhat shorter period of five years, although you wonder if there are times when South Africa questions if he’s been punished for something.

Take last Saturday’s Six Nations opener against France, for example. In preparation, Goosen spoke of how they showed their decline in the final quarter of matches during the remainder of last year’s Six Nations Cup and Autumn Cup as a key area for improvement.

“We analyzed all the matches played in the fall and we saw that the greatest difficulty came for us to coincide with the last 20 minutes of the match,” Goosen said ahead of the match.

“On the one hand we clearly don’t like it, but on the other hand it allows us to come to this meeting with clear ideas for understanding how to improve the situation.”

So, 47 years old, head coach Franco Smith and the rest of the Italian staff had to watch anxiously at the Stadio Olimpico as France stormed a 21-point lead at half-time, with tackles eliminated and the visitors ended up running out of 5-10 winners.

It was a result that saw Italy lose 28 in a row at Six Nations and few gave them much of a chance to avoid making it 29 against England at Twickenham on Saturday afternoon.

Six Nations: England vs Italy talking points

We are seeing some big issues and team news ahead of England’s Six Nations clash with Italy.

Such results have seen the voices calling for Georgia, who opened the second tier of European Rugby Championship with a 16-7 win at home to Russia last Saturday, be given the chance to step up to the Six Nations to grow even harder.

But one man who quickly retained Italy’s place in the tournament was Smith’s predecessor and a man who will be on the British side this weekend, Conor O’Shea.

The Irish cite how the Azzurri have embraced a more daring and attacking mindset compared to Georgia’s scrum-oriented, forward-dominated approach, as well as warning of the damage that would be done to rugby in Italy if they were removed from the Six Nations.

“The easy thing is to just question what the Italians are doing, but when you look at their style of play, they are way better than Georgia,” O’Shea, now RFU’s director of rugby performance, told Daily mail.

I’ve seen a few things on social media. In the end, it will motivate us to work harder and want to go out and win more.

Scrum-Italian half Stephen Varney

“The worst thing you can do right now is a contract, and some decisions now can make that happen, which you shouldn’t. We should all want teams like Georgia and Romania to thrive, but don’t kill other countries while we’re doing it.”

One advantage that Italian rugby has over ambitious Tier Two countries like Georgia is that they have two clubs in Benetton and Zebre playing in PRO14, meaning more players regularly gain regular exposure to top tier domestic rugby competition and European clubs. .

Former Northampton Saints and England U20 winger Jamie Elliott, now in his third season playing for Parma-based Zebre, there is no doubt that the current generation of Italian players is not burdened by a loss of national team reputation either.

“After the international fall they feel like they’ve come more as a team and have more gel, so we’ll see what Six Nations have,” said Elliott.

Former Italy head coach Conor O’Shea is no doubt the Azzurri deserves to be part of the Six Nations

“England have faced them many times, but this Italian team is unpredictable, and they have nothing to lose. They will definitely fire their shots.”

That view is echoed by Stephen Varney, the 19-year-old Scrum midfielder who hails from Wales but qualified for Italy through his mother and is one of the young players Smith sees as the team’s future.

It may be six years since the immortal ladle player last won a Six Nations game, but the Azzurri Under-20s have beaten Scotland and Wales in recent seasons.

And while Varney admits he doesn’t expect to make a move to Tes level so quickly, Gloucester’s men insist there are players starting to arrive who can turn Italy into a more competitive team as they build towards the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

England have faced them many times, but this Italian team is unpredictable, and they have nothing to lose. They will definitely come out to shoot.

Zebre winger Jamie Elliott

“Personally, I don’t think it will come this fast, but Franco is looking into the next World Cup so it’s good to give us some exposure in this Six Nations and in the next three years,” said Varney.

“It is clear playing in the U20 squad that there are many good players and stars for the future.

“I’ve seen some things on social media. In the end, it will motivate us to work harder and want to go out and win more.”