6 Nations Round-Up including news from the Under 20s!
Mike Penistone provides further insight on the weekend's 6 Nations clashes as well as commentary on a historic win for Italy Under 20s over their English counterparts,
Six Nations round two.
A view from down under.
But first……Junior history!
Italy 6 England 0
U 20’s Six Nations - A formula one performance!
The aptly named Italian U 20s captain, Giacomo Ferrari will surely one day captain the senior national side. When questioned about the importance of Italy’s first ever win over England 6-0, he spoke with great pride, passion, and accuracy. This was a group effort, he applauded everyone involved in the preparation of this historic performance. When a player gives you passion and performance, he can’t be ignored.
In the 38th minute, after ferociously defending their line for 3 minutes, Italy earned a scrum 5 meters out in front of their posts. The ball was fed, and England’s scrum destroyed. This was a scrum of passion, desire, and most importantly correct technique. A video clip should be sent to every Italian coach and player who is over 16 years of age.
Pre-pandemic I had the privilege of attending Italian U 20s coaching and preparation sessions. I was hugely impressed as I have been over the last 15 years. I have coached and watched many club sessions across all age groups in Italy. Give me passion and pride over structure and statistics every day of the week. This win was no fluke. It is not by accident that the former U 20s Italian forwards coach is now working with the senior side. Pathways are not just about players!
Representative preparation is about content, and the Italian coaches know that!
Senior Six Nations
Wales 20 Scotland 17
France 30 Ireland 24
Italy 0 England 33
The coaches of Scotland and Ireland will have dwelled long into the night over how and why…. did we lose that game? The bounce back from defeat often results in a win. Wales responded to savage criticism after their huge defeat to Ireland. The public want wins not medical reports on injured and missing players. Wales responded and played with greater intensity. Line speed in defence and ruck speed in attack raised the noise level in the stadium and the players responded.