We look ahead to the 2025 edition with our Italy Six Nations preview. The Italians are unbeaten in their last three Six Nations fixtures, which is their best ever run in the Championship – can they keep the run going in 2025?
It was fruitful 2024 Six Nations campaign for Italy, who went unbeaten across their final three games of the Championship (W2 D1). It was the first time that the Azzurri have avoided defeat in three consecutive fixtures since joining Europe’s elite at the turn of the century.
Wins against Tonga, Japan and Georgia meant Italy finished the year on five wins in total, the third consecutive year in which they’ve won at least four, having previously not won more than three since 2012.
For the Azzurri this year will be all about ensuring that their recent form hasn’t been a mere flash in the pan and that they are finally ready to be a serious contender on this stage.
Playing Style
In their last campaign under Kieran Crowley, Italy placed a strong emphasis on moving the ball wide and attacking from any area of the pitch.
In the 2023 Six Nations, they played with at least 10 metres width on 58% of their attacking phases, the highest rate of any team. They also opted to kick from hand just 21 times per game, at least five per game fewer than any team.
Under Gonzalo Quesada, the Azzurri certainly haven’t abandoned their desire to play expansive rugby, but they have become slightly more pragmatic. They still move the ball wide, with only Ireland (51.1%) adding 10+ metres width to their phase play more often than Italy (50.9%) in 2024.
Similarly, they put boot to ball more frequently last year than they did in the 2023 edition, kicking from hand 27 times per game. It was still the lowest of any team, but with every other nation bar Scotland averaging 28-30 kicks per game, the Azzurri certainly weren’t out-kicked in 2024.
They are a team that is still happy to play from deep, but rather than it being their first instinct, they are happy to pick and choose when to go wide and when to play the kicking game.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Italy were the only team to win 30+ turnovers in the 2024 Six Nations, claiming 33 in total, their most in a single Championship since 2014 (36), while their tally of 62 turnovers conceded was their lowest since 2018 (58).
The 982 tackles completed by the Azzurri last year were also the highest tally ever recorded in a single Six Nations campaign, with England’s class of 2019 the only other team to make over 900 in a single year (908).
This dogged defence meant that despite conceding the most 22 entries of any side (51), only champions Ireland (1.7) conceded fewer points per entry than the Azzurri (2.2). It’s been a gradual improvement to reach this point, with their average having steadily decreased every year since a calamitous 3.9 points conceded per entry in 2021.
Set-pieces have been a different story though, with Quesada seeing his side register a success rate of just 83% from both their scrums and lineouts last year, the worst rate of any side in either category. They didn’t put up much of a fight at their oppositions’ lineouts either, claiming just two against the throw – every other side won at least three times as many.
Similarly, at the breakdown, Italy had both the lowest retention rate at their own rucks (96.5%) and the Championship’s slowest average attacking ruck speed (4.7 seconds). However, if the Azzurri pack can up their game and begin generating quicker and more reliable opportunities for their backline, Italy have more than enough star power to punish sides.
Star Players
It was Ange Capuozzo’s dazzling run to set up Edoardo Padovani for a match-winning try at the Principality Stadium in 2022 which kickstarted the Italian rugby revolution and the twinkle-toed virtuoso remains a key cog in the Italy team.
Capuozzo has been in typically flying form for Toulouse of late, helping himself to a brace in each of his two Champions Cup starts this season. He gained a mammoth 176 metres in his most recent outing against Leicester Tigers, the most by any Toulouse player in a Champions or Challenge Cup game since Opta have recorded this data.
Elsewhere in the backline, Tommaso Menoncello will be hoping to build on a stellar 2024 Six Nations which saw him named as the Player of the Championship. He was the youngest player ever to claim the award at just 21 years old, and just the second Italian to do so, after fellow centre Andrea Masi in 2011.
Menoncello made the most metres in contact of any Italy player (79), with only Monty Ioane (275) gaining more metres overall than him (192). He was equally imperious in defence too, making the joint-most dominant tackles (8) and winning the most turnovers (4) of any back in the Championship.
Menoncello was one of two Italian representatives in the Team of the Championship, alongside Azzurri captain Michele Lamaro, whose inclusion was also well warranted given the fact that he completed 103 tackles, the most by any player in an edition of the Championship, surpassing Jonny Gray’s tally of 100 in 2018.
Can Italy Win the Six Nations?
Italy finished fifth in 2024, losing just twice, their best ever performance in the Six Nations by results. The Opta supercomputer has Italy’s most likely finishing position as fifth again, while they’re given a 0.5% chance of winning the whole thing.
Italy Six Nations Fixtures
Round One: 31 January – 1 February
Scotland vs Italy – Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Round Two: 8-9 February
Italy vs Wales – Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Round Three: 22-23 February
Italy vs France – Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Round Four: 8-9 March
England vs Italy – Twickenham, London
Round Five: 15 March
Italy vs Ireland – Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Italy Six Nations Squad
Forwards: Lorenzo Cannone, Niccolo Cannone, Riccardo Favretto, Simone Ferrari, Danilo Fischetti, Alessandro Izekor, Michele Lamaro, Dino Lamb, Gianmarco Lucchesi, Sebastian Negri, Giacomo Nicotera, Marco Riccioni, Luca Rizzoli, Federico Ruzza, Ross Vintcent, Giosue Zilocchi, Manuel Zuliani.
Backs: Tommaso Allan, Juan Ignacio Brex, Ange Capuozzo, Matt Gallagher, Alessandro Garbisi, Paolo Garbisi, Simone Gesi, Monty Ioane, Leonardo Marin, Tommaso Menoncello, Martin Page-Relo, Jacopo Trulla, Stephen Varney.
Check out our other Rugby Union content on Opta Analyst. You can also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
