“Rugby is a feeling of freedom.” Interview with Alyssa D’Incà

The 200th Italian rugby player in history, Alyssa D’Incà, is the second of four children of two workers, she is 22 years old, she plays center and wing for Villorba, she has 24 appearances for the national team with eight tries, she is from Belluno, 1.71 meters tall, weighs 67 kilos, and a week ago against France scored two tries. The first in the middle of the posts with a lightning-fast insertion into the three-quarter line, the second with a long escape down the left corridor, in both cases escaping the opponents’ tackles. So much so that she was awarded the best in the field.

Alyssa, why rugby?

“By vocation, or by inspiration, or by destiny. I wasn’t even five years old and, at most, I could only have picked up the ball. Instead I broke the rules and got stuck in a tournament. I knew nothing, I understood nothing, but I loved it. I stayed at Alpago until Under 14, then I went to Villorba”.

Meanwhile?

“Athletics, middle distance and cross country. My parents always tried to make us do what we felt we could, what we wanted to do. All their choices were made for us. And this burdened us with responsibility. So, if we decided to do something, we felt committed to trying hard. And when it came to choosing between athletics and rugby, I had no doubts: rugby.”

So, again, why rugby?

“First of all for what it shares with athletics: running. If possible, with the ball in his hands. A feeling of freedom, a belief of power, an explosion of happiness. As fast as possible, as far as possible. Advance, gain, conquer (231 meters in three Six Nations matches, second in the standings, ed.). Rugby is a land to be conquered. And when people aren’t playing on my side, I try to make myself useful to the playmaker, i.e. the scrum-halfs and fly-halves, also offering myself outside of the box.”

Then?

“The bond that is born in the team, first, up to 12 years old, with the boys, because the teams are mixed, then with the girls, until they form a family. Rugby is a family, otherwise it’s not real, authentic rugby. And always the values, inherent to the game and essential in the players: respect for the rules, for the referee, for the opponents and obviously for the teammates means commitment, loyalty, honesty, generosity, courage, everything.”

So, again, why rugby?

“To prove to myself, every day, between training and matches, between the championship and the Six Nations and the World Cup, between pressure and tension, that I am up to the task. Once upon a time I began to feel, and suffer, the matches a couple of days before entering the field. I was consumed. Real paranoia. I worked a lot on it, in the field but also in the armchair, with my classmates but also with psychologists, to feel suitable and adequate. I am so self-critical that I never acquit myself with full marks or pass myself with flying colours. But now at least I can admit that I’m not that bad.”

Claims?

“Yes, many. First of all, against those who consider rugby to be an exclusively male sport. The taboo resists. But also thanks to our results, we are on the right path. Abroad, I’m thinking especially of England and France, but also Scotland, the gap between men’s and women’s rugby is flattening, until we finally get to rugby, and that’s it.”

Rugby as a sport, or is there more?

“Rugby is an art. A philosophical art. Everyone can see it, many can play it, few can understand it. Rugby is also a profession. It can be. Depends. It depends on the categories, on the levels. Rugby is always a passion, otherwise all it takes is one training session to drop everything immediately. Rugby is also a profession. The contribution that we Italians receive from the Federation helps us live: pay the rent, the bills, the shopping. And I’m proud of this.”

Alyssa, what do you say to yourself before entering the field?

“Respect three concrete objectives that, depending on the match, I have assigned to myself. And, always, playing with the same carefreeness with which I entered the field as a child.”

And when does it come out?

“Depends. Sometimes I tell myself to go to hell, other times I tell myself that it didn’t go that bad after all.”

And when does it hit the mark?

“I explain that the credit goes to my teammates. The pure truth”.

When I grow up?

“At the sports science high school I realized that I preferred philosophy to scientific and sports subjects. I signed up for Modern Literature, but I thought about the matches more than the exams. I like reading, writing, maybe teaching, certainly transmitting. But now there’s rugby.” And on Saturday, at 5.45pm, at the Lanfranchi in Padua and live on Sky Sport: Italy-Scotland.