Four weeks, 3 matches, 11 planes for a total of 58 hours of flight: a long and hard tour, but above all a way to build another small piece of Italian rugby history. If Italy were to bring home the 3 test matches scheduled against Samoa (5 July), Tonga (12 July) and Japan (21 July) they could gain an incredible seventh place in the ranking: never so high for the Azzurri, who at At the moment they find themselves eighth after having played the best Six Nations in their history and equaling their 2007 placing. It will depend on the Azzurri, but also on France who will have to beat Argentina in the double match on 6 and 13 July. A new situation for Italy, which rarely finds itself experiencing such important moments with the rank of favorite and which has often struggled a lot in the summer tours. Woe to think, therefore, that this is an easy tour, far from it, especially because the Azzurri have never won at home to Samoa and the last tour in 2022 ended with a burning defeat at home to Georgia, in Batumi, which once again reopened the debate on the possible entry of the Lelos into the Six Nations to the detriment of the Azzurri.
Objective: three victories
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Georgian ghosts aside, the Azzurri’s declared goal is to win them all, bringing the number of consecutive victories to 5 after Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations. They face 3 teams that on paper are a step below Italy, but absolutely not to be underestimated: Samoa does not have its best talents at its disposal such as the former Wallabies Lealiʻifano and the Benetton number 10 Umaga, but they have a physicality bordering on brutality that the Azzurri can suffer. Tonga on paper is the least dangerous but is an unpredictable team, and the last time in Padua they won against an Italy that had just beaten South Africa. Japan is now a consolidated reality in the world of rugby and above all they have on the bench a certain Eddie Jones, who in his first cycle with the Japanese worked miracles and who as always will invent something to overturn the predictions. Be careful not to be fooled by the clear defeat with England: there were 8 debutants on the field.
the pressure of being favoured
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Winning when you are forced to win is never easy for the Azzurri who, accustomed to the role of outsider, have repeatedly failed to meet the test of maturity. Before even thinking about Samoa, Tonga and Japan, Italy will have to deal with itself, as explained by one of the most experienced of a still very young group, Simone Ferrari, 30 years old and 53 appearances for the Azzurri: “In the past we had difficulty managing the pressure of being favourites but what happened with Georgia must never happen again. Compared to that match, we are a different team, much more aware: in 2022 we were really very young, now we have two more years of experience, we have learned from those mistakes and achieved important results. We know how important these matches are for our ranking and this tour will be like a Six Nations: every match must be prepared to perfection in order to win against teams that will do everything to stop us from playing our game in attack and hide the ball from us. Our problems came when we left the “process” and let ourselves be too influenced by the pressure, like in 2023 against Wales (defeated 29-17 in a match considered equal on the eve, ed.) and first in Georgia”.
endless journeys
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The Azzurri (and especially the staff) will have to be good at managing their energy on a tour that is expected to be extremely tiring, even in terms of travel. In fact, Italy will be based in Auckland, New Zealand, and will only travel for the matches, for a total of 58 hours of flight. A very complicated tour, as explained by team manager and former Italy winger Giovanbattista Venditti, goal scorer of the historic success over South Africa in 2016: “When we went to inspect the Pacific islands, we realized that there were no requirements to be able to do the right level of preparation, so we decided to base ourselves in New Zealand with 3-day trips to the match location like in the Six Nations. Furthermore, we will play against Samoa and Tonga on Friday because if we had played on Saturday we would not have been able to leave immediately, on Sunday everything is closed there and even the airports don’t have flights. The last trip is also logistically challenging, because we have to return from Tonga to New Zealand and from there leave for Japan, which seems close but is actually an 11-hour flight away”. The physical management of the players becomes fundamental, especially because the great distance from Italy does not allow for on-the-fly changes among the 33 chosen by Quesada: “It took us 2 days to get to New Zealand and at least 3 to recover from jet lag, and we have 3 very physically tough matches ahead of us: it’s a blender, but our doctors, trainers and physiotherapists are fantastic and have already implemented a physical preparation and prevention protocol to be applied immediately after arriving in New Zealand, to avoid injuries. It will be fundamental on a tour where you basically cannot change any of the 33 players called up” explains Venditti.
champions, confirmations and debuts
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Italy presents itself on this tour with a variety of choices never so rich before. Gonzalo Quesada confirmed most of the group that played in the Six Nations. There is Tommaso Menoncello, best player of the last tournament. There is Capuozzo, who will arrive a little later because he is busy in the final of the French championship, as well as Paolo Garbisi, Fischetti, captain Lamaro, the confirmed Lynagh and the returning Riccioni, who immediately put things in order at the first press meeting clearly: “Just as we have changed the trend of the Six Nations, we also want to change that of the summer tours. When we face opponents who are behind us in the ranking we must win and make them understand why we are ahead of them.” Matt Gallagher, vice-champion of England with Bath, son of an artist (his father John won the ’87 World Cup with the All Blacks) and Italian thanks to his grandfather from Val Rendena, joined the Italian group. Together with him, the Italian-French prop Loris Zarantonello, protagonist in France with Castres, and the stars of the latest Italian Under 20 team François Carlo Mey and David Odiase can also make their debuts. This group can continue to make history, and Quesada himself noticed it immediately, as told by Venditti: “From the first training sessions in January Gonzalo was struck by their ability to go beyond their limits every day, always raising the ‘bar. Seeing the surprise in his eyes when the kids managed to grow so quickly was beautiful, Quesada immediately said that these kids were brilliant.” And if Gonzalo Quesada says it, you have to believe it.
