By Matt Hardy
Italy has been a focus of rugby discussion for a number of years. While many believe they shouldn’t be afforded the privileges of a tier one country, others think they just need time to succeed. But in Benetton Rugby Italy has a sturdy foundation on which to build.
The team formerly known as Benetton Treviso, from the city just north of Venice, are performing consistently for the first time in decades and have become a launchpad for the national team.
It is no coincidence that the Azzurri down the road in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico have performed better because their clubs are churning out results as well.
Benetton on two fronts
Marco Bortolami’s Benetton are sixth in the United Rugby Championship, above the likes of the South African Lions, Edinburgh and Ulster, while also proving they can fight on two fronts by qualifying for the European Challenge Cup semi-finals.
They will take on Gloucester Rugby next month for a spot in a first ever European final against either French side Clermont or South African team the Sharks. It is a mark of a monumental change years in the making for Italian rugby.
Former Harlequins coach Conor O’Shea, now in the England pathway set-up, is credited with developing systems to nurture youngsters without them needing to go abroad.
Kiwi Kieran Crowley and his assistants took Italy on an international journey where youth and quality, rather than reputation, was key to selection. It saw the development of a number of quality players including this year’s Six Nations player of the year Tommaso Menoncello.
And under current coach Gonzalo Quesada Italy achieved their best Six Nations performance in more than a decade.
New path
Italian rugby is on a new path, one where being the plucky underdogs is no longer the default position.
The national team has an aura of expectation surrounding it and clubs such as Benetton get the trickle-down effect that goes with that.
The club reached the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup last season, only to lose 23-0 to Toulon. But now they’ve had their sighter, a crushing experience at the highest level.
Bortolami’s old club Gloucester have already won one trophy this season and will not roll over in order to give the Italians the dream they’ve been aspiring towards, but the chance is there for Benetton to do something special.
And a successful domestic side, with an improving international side, will only silence the critics that have wanted to rid Italy of top flight rugby over the last two decades.
