Six Nations Preview: Italy

It’s five years since Italy finished anywhere other than rock bottom of the Six Nations table. Can their fortunes improve this time around?

How’s the form?

Not great. They were walloped by both ourselves and Australia in the World Cup in the autumn and go into the Six Nations hoping to avoid bottom spot for the first time since 2007. They’re not exactly the whipping boys they once were, however, especially at home – our lads needed a Ronan O’Gara drop goal to escape Rome with a win 12 months ago, and France weren’t so lucky on their visit to the Eternal City. They also outscored Wales by two tries to one at home, only to be outgunned by a Stephen Jones as yet uninhibited by his World Cup jitters.

Things could be tougher this time around, though, as they only have two games at home, although the last weekend sees the visit of Scotland and that could be a winner-take-all to avoid the wooden spoon. They're also going into the tournament without the services of highly-regarded South African coach Nick Mallett, whose four-year stint in charge came to an end at the World Cup. Frenchman Jacques Brunel is now in charge, and he's promising a more expansive style of play. Which could be a recipe for disaster.

Star Man:

Simple: Sergio Parisse. You’d have to feel sorry for the big Number 8, who really is as good as anyone in the world, but plays for a team that’s as weak as any in the front rank of nations. The Stade Francais star is one of just a handful of foreign-based players – props Martin Castrogiovanni and Andrea Lo Cicero and centre Gonzalo Canale are others who play their club rugby away from Italy.

The Kit Kat Chunky Hard Yards Man:

It’s hard to call Mauro Bergamasco evergreen – he seems to have been around forever and he’s definitely fading a bit now – but if the legs might be showing a few of the signs of his 32 years and 80-plus caps, his patented brand of in-your-face aggression remains undimmed. He’ll be involved in all the skirmishes in and around the breakdown.

And as he and his brother Mirco both boast flowing fair locks, he’s not a bad ambassador for Kit Kat Chunky White Choc. Put the pair of them together and they would be a perfect fit for Chunky Double White Choc. Now there’s an idea for Nestle, eh?

The Bergamasco brothers. Don't steal their Kit Kats...

New kid on the block:

Versatile 21-year-old back Tommaso Benvenuti can play on the wing, at centre and at full back and takes plenty of watching. He didn’t cross the line in the Heineken Cup this season but he scored five tries in Benetton Treviso’s six matches last term and has scored three in his 12 senior caps to date for Italy.

WAG watch:

Surprise, surprise, it’s back to Parisse again. Not only is he a world-class Number 8, but his wife Alexandra Rosenfeld is a world class model and former Miss France. Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi wouldn’t hold a candle to these two.

The Dates:

4th Feb: v France (a)

11th Feb: v England (h)

25th Feb: v Ireland (a)

10th March: v Wales (a)

17th March: v Scotland (h)

If they were a Rocky film, they would be: Rocky 3: Their manager is gone, they can be overly-emotional at times and they lack the flair of their competitors.

The JOE/Kit Kat Chunky Verdict:

Fifth. They’ll quite possibly lose all their games, but they’ll be targeting the visit of the Scots on the final weekend, and they could win that one to climb off the bottom. For one year at least.

Which is your favourite in the Kit Kat Chunky Champion search? Peanut Butter’s better, right? Or maybe you’re a Double Choc or Orange-loving type of fella? Wait, you’re not White Choc, are you? Vote for your favourite over at the Kit Kat Facebook page.