The blow quickly subsided. Announced (by some) as the troublemaker of the group of France and New Zealand during the last World Cup, Italy violently got its feet caught in the carpet. Slapped by the All Blacks (96-17) then the Blues (60-7). Gone is the recent progress observed during the victory against Wales in Cardiff (21-22) in the 2022 Tournament then the first victory in its history against Australia (28-27) a few months later. Brutal exit from the road for the New Zealander Kieran Crowley, dismissed from his duties in the process. A new page is now opening for the transalpine selection with the arrival of Gonzalo Quesada (49 years old), well known on this side of the Alps for having coached Racing 92, Stade Français Paris and Biarritz.
During the presentation conference for this 2024 edition, Gonzalo Quesada – smiling, comfortable, multilingual (Italian, Spanish, English, French) – recalled that he was not discovering the international level, he who was also deputy of Mario Ledesma at the head of the Pumas. “I also had the chance to be on Marc Lièvremont’s staff (2008-2011, Editor’s note), so I have already participated in a few tournaments,” he emphasizes. I was only an assistant but it was a great experience. Now, to be the first Argentinian to be coach in the Six Nations is a real honor and a great privilege. I try to work rationally to prepare for the upcoming matches. There were a lot of emotions when playing this first Tournament with a great nation like Italy.”
On the other hand, no revolution to expect. “The first thing is that we will certainly have a little continuity,” says the former Pumas fly-half, best director of the 1999 World Cup. “I have a lot of respect for the things that have been done before. What is particularly important now is the preparation of the team and arriving as ready as possible for the first match.
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And the one who is under contract until the 2027 World Cup in Australia continues: “In the current Italian team, we have a kind of identity when we talk about style of rugby, but I think we have to define even more deeply the identity of the team. I’m Latin, I have an Anglo-Saxon way of thinking but I have the impression that emotions are really important, like any human being, for us it’s a little more, especially when we talk about rugby. My project is to work in depth with them to define our type of identity together. It’s not ‘Gonzalo’s identity’.”
When he was appointed, Marzio Innocenti, the boss of Italian rugby, did not want to put excessive pressure on him: “He must not make us win the Six Nations Tournament, he must not beat France, Ireland, South Africa or New Zealand…” For Quesada, “at the end of the next cycle until the World Cup, there will be a lot of players with 50 or 60 caps. What we want is for these players to start being treated with a little respect off the field.
To open the Tournament, Italy will face England on Saturday, the only nation it has not beaten since joining the Six Nations in 2000. Quesada injected a little new blood by calling on five neophytes, notably the promising third row Ross Vintcent (21 years old), born in South Africa and who wears the colors of the Exeter Chiefs. “All the players summoned to the training camp have a chance to seize,” explains the Argentinian. The new coach mainly relied on the players from Benetton Treviso (half of the squad), currently second in the United Rugby Championship behind Irish Leinster.
“I believe in this team, the boys have a great desire to improve: I am aware of the challenge, I feel the pressure,” nevertheless recognizes the French champion coach in 2015 with Stade Français and Super Rugby finalist with the Argentinian Jaguares in 2019. The task will not be easy: the Nazionale, eleventh nation in the world, remains in last place in eight Tournaments, with seven wooden spoons (no victory).
“To be competitive, you have to be consistent for 80 minutes with solid defense and conquest, that’s the key,” says the new Italian coach. I would very much like to produce an attractive game and have a “friendly” team, but what I want above all is to be competitive from this Tournament onwards and without making excuses.”
This first Tournament will serve as a start, to take the pulse of Italian rugby. Gonzalo Quesada will go from strength to strength. “Before talking about the game, I think it will be important to have a common vision. I have my own beliefs about the game, the identity and the culture I want, but first I need to understand the culture of Italian rugby, he explains. It will be important to listen and learn a lot, then I will try to convince the players and the staff to go in the same direction in this magnificent new adventure. A new chapter in an already busy coaching career.