Leonardo Ghiraldini: 'The supporters in Italy are unbelievable'
Leonardo Ghiraldini, a member of the last Italy side to win at home in the Guinness Six Nations, knows better than most what sort of pressure the Azzurri players will be under this Saturday when they take on Scotland in Rome.
The 39-year-old former hooker from Padova was firmly established in Italy’s front row when they downed Ireland 22-15 in March 2013, a result that is unthinkable in the current rugby climate and seems a very long time ago.
But the visit of Scotland – a team they have beaten more than any other in the Six Nations – brings renewed hope that they can finally deliver the goods at Stadio Olimpico.
Italy’s best two results in recent times came away from the ancient city; they beat Wales in Cardiff in the final round of the 2022 championship, which is still the last time they came out on the winning side in the Six Nations, before delivering another statement result later that year against Australia.
That first-ever win over the Wallabies was in Florence, not Rome, where the phrase “home advantage” is the best example of an oxymoron you will ever come across in sport.
The Ireland result was soon after Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, the first time this had happened in nearly 600 years, so the Azzurri still have some way to go before the white smoke – or the white flag – comes out.
Still, as the ledger of Roman losses continues to grow, with the 27-24 defeat against England in this year’s round one the most recent example, so does the pressure from fans and the media.
“I went to the stadium when Italy played England in Rome, and I saw how people screamed and supported Italy during the game and how sad they felt after the game,” said Ghiraldini to RugbyPass.
“The supporters in Italy are unbelievable and there will be 80,000 there against Scotland. The guys feel the pressure; I felt the responsibility and the urgency to win in the last few years of my career.
“Winning is what sport is all about, of course, but it’s important to feel the pressure positively and respond with a performance where you are playing to your potential. The result will be a consequence of that.
“Of course, the media are pushing for a win, especially when we play at home and when we play against Scotland and Wales, they start saying we can do it, we can win. But when you do that you stop thinking about the process that will get you the win.”
Other than some TV and ambassadorial work for the Italian Rugby Federation, Ghiraldhini is not directly involved in rugby. But he, like all other Italian fans, was watching in anguish when the ball fell from Paolo Garbisi’s kicking tee a fortnight ago and his rushed effort struck the post, denying Italy a first-ever Six Nations away win against France.
“I was skiing in the Dolomites mountains with my family – my daughter was born in France and my son is half-Italian and half-French – and we watched the game when we were there. It was tough to watch.”
? Round 4 incoming ?
A reminder of how things currently stand ??#GuinnessM6N pic.twitter.com/qb9Kwq5N9n
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 4, 2024
Even so, Ghiraldini was encouraged by many aspects of the performance in Lille. “We didn’t play in the first half we defended a lot (making over 100 tackles) and we defended very, very well in the last 10 metres. But we didn’t perform in attack, we didn’t have quality ball to play with.
“If you see how they reacted to errors last week, it was much better. They just got on and thought about the next job. That’s the best thing we can take from the France game. During the World Cup, if we made a mistake we made error after error.”
In that respect, Ghiraldini sees similarities between the current group of players and the team he represented 107 times. “More than half of the national team was playing for Treviso, myself included, and we were playing really well and had one of the best seasons for 10 years. We brought that winning mentality to the national team.
“It was a very good Ireland too, but we played with confidence from the first minute until the end. Sergio Parisse had a yellow card in the second half and that is sometimes when Italy struggle, when something negative like that happens. We kept fighting and continued to play with the right mentality.”
Having had the wooden spoon in their possession for the last eight years, Italy again find themselves bottom of the standings on points difference. But the three points gained from the narrow defeat to England and the draw with France – plus the fact they have two winnable games on paper left – has given them an injection of confidence at a time in the tournament when, ordinarily, their heads are bowed.
“Consistency is the key,” Ghiraldini continued. “Now is the moment for this young group of people to recognise they have set the standard – and it is their standard. It wasn’t perfect against France but it was better than at the World Cup. It is a start for them to build on.
“In 2013, we had a good group of players and we had the right mentality and we brought that into the national team. But instead of pushing more and building something special, the Italian federation stopped investing a little bit; they were probably happy enough with the results.
“Players stopped coming through and to start again, to build again is quite hard. Now we are seeing the results of some of the investment the Italian federation has made in the last few years. It is not enough, of course, it is not enough, but the national team is growing with a group of players who know they can win games at this level.”
Comments on RugbyPass
“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
37 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
1 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
33 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
5 Go to comments