Fabio Roselli: Addressing slow starts and focussing on ‘Brand Italy’

Fabio Roselli had his first taste of life as a Guinness Women’s Six Nations head coach last March, and having also experienced his first World Cup in the same year, he has no doubt about what he wants from his team.

When the Italy head coach is asked the age old question of what he wants- performances or results-he is quick with his reply.

“Performances, absolutely,” said the former Zebre assistant coach. “With our performance we know it is all under our control of how we prepare and how we set our standards.

“Results depend on a lot of other factors, firstly the opposition and then many other factors that we can’t control. We want to worry about our performances, because if we play well then there is a better possibility that the results will follow.”

Results have been mixed since the ex-Italy winger came in a year early after Giovanni Raineri stepped down at the end of 2024, rather than after the World Cup. In his first Championship in charge, Italy won twice, away to Scotland and at home to Wales which allowed them to finish fourth.

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However, one thing Roselli wants to change is Italy’s reputation for being slow starters. In their first two matches last year they lost heavily to England, whilst Ireland claimed a 54-12 victory in Parma in Round 2.

It was no different at the World Cup where they barely got out of their half against France in the pool stages and finished with a 24-0 loss. It set the Azzurre back and after South Africa took an early grip in their second pool match, Italy were unable to haul them in, and their World Cup was over.

“This is the biggest challenge that I as coach and the players have together this Championship,” Roselli said. “We want to make our base level as high as possible and end the Championship with an even higher base level. We want to find that in our first week and not try and set it in the weeks after to help us have the best tournament possible.

“A good performance would be to continue to establish our identity and build on it with this group of players. We want to continue to evolve certain areas of our play and make our style of rugby competitive against the strongest teams in the Six Nations.”

One thing the 54-year-old will be aiming to maintain is Italy’s reputation for playing attractive, attacking rugby. In their most recent Six Nations match, the 44-12 win over Wales in Round 5 last season, Roselli’s side ran in six tries, four of which came from their back three.

Wing Aura Muzzo was their leading try scorer with four and her performances earned her a move to French side Lyon Feminin. Francesca Granzotto scored twice against Wales and is well known to Exeter Chiefs fans for her performances in Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR), Alyssa D’Inca scored three tries in 2024, including the Try of the Championship, while full-back Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi is another who provides a threat with the ball in hand.

“When you don’t have a natural physicality, you have to try and find a different way to beat your opponents,” Roselli said. “In Italy we have found a way of expressing our style of rugby, but we would like it to be a little more balanced, but we have to find the players to play that.

“We know there needs to be balance because rugby is a physical sport. We are working towards that, but we know what ‘Brand Italy’ looks like for now.”

Roselli named nine uncapped players in the first squad he named in 2026 and suggested that more could be added depending on how well they perform for the under-21s.

While the head coach admits that new faces will have to come into the squad as the World Cup cycle goes on, he has picked multiple familiar faces, including prop Silvia Turani, hooker Vittoria Vecchini, flanker Francesca Sgorbini, scrum-half Sofia Stefan and centre Michela Sillari who will end the Championship on 99 caps if she features in every match.

One other familiar face is number eight Elisa Giordano, who will continue at the Azzurre’s captain.

“When you are a coach you want to choose a squad that is balanced, has energy, experienced, but also able to give young players the chance to be part of it,” Roselli said. “When you are able to evolve the squad in this direction, it could be the starting point for the next World Cup, but we have to stay focused and not get too far ahead of ourselves and think of the present.

“Elisa (Giordano) has so much experience and a way of working that gives us great leadership, even if it isn’t obvious. She understands the rhythm of the team, and she has a great way of balancing rugby with her full-time work outside rugby. At the same time, what she still brings are things that we need in the team.”