By Matt Hardy
Being the new kid is never easy but that is the role Gonzalo Quesada will take up in this year’s Six Nations.
The Argentinian is no stranger to European rugby, having once been France assistant coach and holding managerial roles with the likes of Racing, Biarritz and most recently Stade Francais. He is also familiar with the Six Nations, having often referenced his time as a child when he’d watch the international competition from home in Buenos Aires.
But he could be in for his biggest challenge of all this week as he takes charge of Italy for their opening match against England.
The 49-year-old multi-lingual former Puma has prided himself on creating teams that flow between a dominant forward-oriented game and a silky backs style.
Respectful Italy
But the reality is this: despite some success under former head coach Kieran Crowley, who some suggest was sacked too early, which included an amazing victory two years ago in Cardiff against Wales, Italy just aren’t a winning machine.
“We will certainly be continuing to have a lot of respect for the stuff that has been done before,” Quesada says. “What is important now is the team’s preparation to be as ready as we can for the first game.
“We have a clear project in my head of what I want to do and where I want to go with this team but the identity is not my plan. My plan is to work deeply with the team to define the identity I want.
“Emotions are really important [to Italians], especially when we talk about rugby. I played against Italy and I played against Italian players, and I coached other retired players in the past.
“Maybe we can go back to those roots and use them as the basics that make us play the role we want to play.”
Heads in the game
Italy boast talents such as centre Tommaso Menoncello, forward Seb Negri and captain Michele Lamaro. They have had their foundations set by former coach Conor O’Shea – who was key in developing the regional academies of the nation – and Crowley – who blooded a generation of new players – but the pressure is on them now to develop into a team who can compete for wins throughout the tournament.
Club side Benetton, who are home to the majority of Azzurri players, are second in the United Rugby Championship and their spine of like-minded individuals will be key to any Italian success.
“We are thinking of the whole tournament but our heads are on the first game against England,” Quesada added.
“But it is true that, especially for me, you have to anticipate a little bit more.
“We are receiving the third team from the World Cup in the first game before flying to Dublin to play Ireland and Lille to play France. It will be an interesting challenge for the team because we know the first step will be to perform at home.
“But we are going to have to switch our team to play other top teams. We are aware we are the youngest team, the most uncapped, blah blah blah – but we have our community. I hope we can push teams to play at their best to beat us.”
