Giacomo Nicotera and the Top 14: “I struggled at the beginning, I knew the level but I didn’t expect it”

Giacomo Nicotera, hooker for the Italian national team with 35 caps, is in his second year of experience in the top French championship, the Top 14, with the Stade Français shirt.

After 13 days, essentially halfway through the Top 14 regular season, the Parisian team is in good shape in the championship: it occupies fourth position with 34 points, tied with Bordeaux and Bayonne. And great merit goes to the mix, indicated by the French magazine RugbyRama as the currently strongest pack in the championship.

The transalpine magazine interviewed the Italian Giacomo Nicotera at length, to ask him the secret of the strength of the Stade Français scrum and how he and the team have grown compared to last season.

Read also: Gianmarco Lucchesi’s future is still in the Top 14

Giacomo Nicotera and the Top 14: “I struggled at the beginning, I knew the level but I didn’t expect it”

It is a great source of pride to be part of the best scrum in France – began Giacomo Nicotera – I really understood the importance of the scrum in the Top 14 when I arrived in Paris. Last year we had a difficult season. I remember some games where we struggled in the scrum. I saw the kids around me with their heads down. But the scrum is a real barometer for a team. If the scrum doesn’t work well, the whole team suffers. It’s really a question of mentality.”

“But be careful, just because we’ve had good performances in the scrum this season doesn’t mean we have to get carried away. We have a very ambitious group, which means we always see what’s wrong, what we’re doing wrong.”

“Our secret? I would say that at the Stade Français we are lucky to have props who really love scrums. Giorgi (Melikidze), he loves scrums (laughs). The more we do, the happier he is. Tuesday is the day we train separately, the forwards on one side, the backs on the other. And for us there is always a scrum session. And on that day he always has a big smile on his face, Tuesday is definitely his favorite day.”

Giacomo Nicotera also spoke about the impact on the Top 14 level, coming from several years of experience with Benetton Treviso: “Before my arrival last year, everyone told me that I would be playing in the most difficult championship in the world in terms of scrums, but I honestly didn’t expect it that much… Every weekend is a new challenge, with players who have different characteristics and require adaptation. They become stronger and stronger. I struggled a bit at the beginning. But I’m lucky to be in an environment which allowed me to improve.”

“Where can Stade Français still improve? Our problem now is more about discipline at the end of the game. We really need to improve in this aspect. It’s something we try to train every week. What do we do if we are three points ahead in the 77th minute and we’re in the opponent’s half? What do we do if we’re ahead with five minutes left and we’re in our own half? It’s often a valuable exercise. But training is never like the game. However hard you try to plan everything, it’s not always things are going as expected. This is sport”, concluded Giacomo Nicotera.

onrugby.it © all rights reserved