To face the beastly physique of the Pacific giants, you also need, above all, “tough guys” like Edoardo Iachizzi. He is 1.96m tall and weighs 110 kilos, but above all he has sculpted himself over years of sporting battles in the ProD2, the second division of the French championship where historically no compliments are given. On the contrary. This is why the second Italian line will be among the protagonists of the first test-match of the National team’s tour in Apia, against those tanks from the Samoan islands (the match will be played on Friday when it will be 6 in the morning in Italy). “We know the DNA of the islanders. We will have to fight more than usual”, explains the Roman rugby player. “Fortunately, physicality has always been important in my game, a characteristic of my game. The experience in France was very important, the Pro D2 was an excellent school”. Trained in the Capitolina club, Iachizzi (26 years old) accepted at a very young age to move to Perpignan, where he made his debut in the first team at 18. Then 3 intense seasons in Vannes, before signing a contract with Benetton Treviso last season. «In Veneto I think I grew a lot also from a technical point of view. Measuring myself at an international level was important».
Fernandez and the work on meeting points
Samoa on Friday, Tonga in Nuku’alofa the following week and finally Japan in Sapporo. Three tough matches, an important test for the Italian team after the best Six Nations ever and the 8th place in the world ranking. «Playing good rugby motivates you to always do better. I found a beautiful environment (he had missed the tournament due to injury, ed.) and a calm climate: it is fundamental. And it is nice that we have guys from different championships: each one brings his own experiences, everything helps to grow». With the islanders it will be a clash without prisoners. «We are working hard on the points of agreement with German Fernandez: he takes care of the details with great meticulousness. And also the new defence coach Richard Hodges, he has interesting things to teach». The Azzurri trained at Grammar Tec in Auckland, meeting Kaine Robertson, a New Zealand three-quarter winger who wore the Azzurri jersey 47 times in the early 2000s and is remembered for a try at the Flaminio that gave our national team victory over Wales. “I congratulated him. Let’s hope he’s an inspiration in this adventure.”
