The debut challenge of the 6 nations between France and Italy ended without miracles, played in the polar cold of Paris: 30-12 for the world vice-champions, who scored 4 tries against the blue zero. As predicted, the cockerels have therefore avenged the sensational defeat suffered last year at the Flaminio stadium. Losing debut for the new coach of the Italian national team, the French Jacques Brunel.
They will be missing, les Dieux du Stade (the gods of the stadium), those two Bergamasco brothers who drove the Parisian ladies crazy with their calendars and glossy covers. Like the one that caused a scandal, in 2007, in Libération's Next magazine, when they both appeared naked in the company of Asia Argento, another sexy icon of Made in Italy abroad. Mirco and Mauro will be missing, one due to an injury and the other due to a technical choice, in the rugby challenge between France and Italy in the 6 nations, which never like this time, given the plots, will have the flavor of a derby and, for the cockerels injured by last year's clamorous defeat at the Flaminio stadium, of a rematch.
There will instead be Sergio Parisse, boyfriend of Miss France 2006, together with four new blue entries and a new technical commissioner, coincidentally French. Thus Italy made its debut in the 6 rugby nations, where it reached its 12th participation, in which will make his debut by challenging France in the first match scheduled for Saturday at 15.30 pm at the Stade de France (the other two matches are Scotland-England at 17pm and Ireland-Wales on Sunday at 15pm).
With the cockerels it will be immediately derby, therefore. First of all because the new coach, who took over from Nick Mallett as soon as the New Zealand World Cup ended in October, is the true transalpine Jacques Brunel, originally from Courresan, a small village of 375 souls in the heart of the Pyrenees, in the South-West of France, where the tradition of the Les Bleus oval ball nestles stronger than elsewhere. A former good-level player (he played full-back), as a coach he won the championship in 2009 at the helm of Perpignan and was for 6 years, from 2001 to 2007, on coach Bernard Laporte's national team.
In an interview with the French sports newspaper L'Equipe, Brunel declared himself “excited for this exciting new adventure. I strongly believe in the potential of the blue team: Italy has a great future”. At a rough guess, a bit the same thing as what his illustrious predecessors on the Italian bench had declared, from the South African Mallett to his compatriot Berbizier, to mention the last two. Both started with great enthusiasm, but except for sporadic exploits, none has ever really led to the definitive leap in quality.
Mallett was about to succeed, just against France when last year he signed between the friendly walls of Flaminio Italy's first victory over the cockerels in the history of the 6 nations. And precisely from that group, and again against his France for a thrilling debut, the new coach Brunel starts again.
Despite the intentions to rejuvenate (and Italianize) the rose, at the moment there are only four new grafts: prop Alberto De Marchi (Aironi), center back Luca Morisi (Crociati Parma), forward Angelo Esposito (Tarvisio) and above all the very young Abruzzo player Giambattista Venditti, 21 years old, which will even be launched in the 15 titular. Edoardo Gori confirmed as scrum-half, while Kris Burton returns to opener, excluded by Mallett.
The atmosphere of the derby would have been felt even more given the numerous blue players involved (successfully) in the prestigious French Top14 championship. In reality, however, there will be only three, given the absence of the Bergamasco brothers, who will therefore keep the tension high from the derby Andrea Lo Cicero of Racing Metro Paris, Gonzalo Canale of Clermont and especially the captain Sergio Parisse, third line of the Stade Français and engaged for 2 years to Alexandra Rosenfeld, Miss France and Miss Europe in 2006.
Even France, for its part, has changed its coach (via Lievremont, here is Philippe Saint-André), but not even she proposes very big changes: it will be the usual old guard to take the field, with the only relevant novelty being the young center Wesley Fofana, at its absolute debut. The absence of the ogre Chabal stands out, but he had already announced his retirement with the Les Bleus shirts at the end of the World Cup final lost to the All Blacks.
Everything is ready, in one freezing French afternoon (-8 degrees in Paris expected) early February: theirs to avenge the incredible 22-21 blue of a year ago, ours to demonstrate that abroad, as well as to make the fans happy, they also go there to win.
