LONDON – Former Italy lock Carlo Del Fava says he believes that after four years with Jacques Brunel at the helm, the Azzurri must be at their best.
Italy did well in the autumn internationals, beating Samoa before extremely narrow, yet inspiring, losses to Argentina and South Africa.
Del Fava was encouraged by these performances, and with the 2015 RBS 6 Nations just two weeks away, he says he thinks Italian rugby is finally turning around.
“The Samoa clash was a must-win game for the team, then we just slipped away against Argentina when we probably should have got something from that game,” said Del Fava, a BBC pundit at the 2015 RBS 6 Nations.
“But the game of the autumn for us was undoubtedly against South Africa, the way the guys played the game, especially for the first 60 minutes, was just fantastic. We were right in the contest and for the majority of it were controlling the game. The defence the guys showed was incredible, guys putting their bodies on the line. We used the scrum as a weapon to turn the Springboks.”
“It was only late on when the Springboks used their bench that they took over and ran rampant at the end. That strength in depth is something that we cannot compete with. “But we have taken a lot of confidence and hopefully we can carry that into the RBS 6 Nations.”
The 54-times capped international says he sees a huge difference in the squad’s organization this year when compared to previous years.
“This autumn was probably the first time that Brunel started to get the game plan that he wants in place,” Del Fava said.
“It has taken him a while, there have been a lot of different plans and players, and maybe the language barrier was a problem as well. But these are now his own players and his own system is in place so hopefully it is time to produce our best.”
Del Fava admits the first two rounds will not be easy for Italy, who host defending champions Ireland for the opener and follow that with a trip to Twickenham to face England, a team they have never beaten.
“The first two weekends usually set the tempo for the tournament, but defeats are likely,” Del Fava said.
Despite this, and considering his side lost every game in last year’s Six Nations, he remains adamant that Italy must use the fact that they have three home games to their advantage.