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Sara Seye: 'Italy have to keep bringing the physicality'
Against England in their Women’s Six Nations opener, Italy put out a second-half defensive display that they can take immense pride from, which saw them only concede five points, scored in the 78th minute.
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Sara Seye, the Italy prop who plies her trade for Trailfinders in the PWR, said after the first-round match in York: “We had a good chat in the changing room after the first half and we showed in the second half how much character we have. We spoke about our defence. We couldn’t defend for 80 minutes straight, but we said we had to do the basics right and keep building and building.
“Of course, they [England] bring very good momentum, and tackling them is always quite hard, but I think we did good and I think that’s shown right at the end what we’re trying to achieve at the end of the tournament.
“We only conceded five points, and that happened two minutes before the end, so that means that we defended quite a lot but we also had the capabilities to keep England in our half, but the defence was good. I think it shows what we’re trying to build up and we’re going to improve towards Ireland next week.”
Scrummaging against a starting front row of Kelsey Clifford, Amy Cokayne, and Maud Muir is no mean feat, but Seye reflected positively on her performance.
“They bring the challenge. I’m quite happy with my performance,” she said. “I had a little bit of a mental setback at the beginning of the season, so I’m happy where I’m at, and I know that I can work on it, we have time.
“It’s always tough [playing England] you know they are a good side, you know they have good players from the starters to the bench. You have to get your mind off of it and be yourselves, be Italy, don’t think about who you’re playing against.”
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Round two of the Women’s Six Nations will see Italy face Ireland at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma.
In the last four competitions, Italy have won twice against Ireland, but both of their victories have come in the last two years – by 17 and six points respectively in 2023 and 2024.
Italy are acutely aware, though, that despite their recent form against Ireland – Scott Bemand’s side, who finished third in last year’s Women’s Six Nations – will likely provide a tough contest.
“Ireland is growing a lot, and so are we. It’s always been a good matchup between us and Ireland, it’s always very close,” the 24-year-old said.
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“We just have to bring the physicality because they are going to bring it as well, and just keep getting our basics right, like we did in the second half against England. From the first minute, we have to keep bringing the physicality, doing the basics right, and playing our game.”
Seye hopes that Italy will take the momentum from their second-half display against the world number one side not only into the second round of the Women’s Six Nations, but also further into the year as the Rugby World Cup beckons.
“It’s so important, mentally as well, to continue the momentum,” she stressed.
“We showed a good second half, I think we need to get the momentum into training this week, then against Ireland, show a good performance there, and then keep building until the World Cup.”
The next time Italy will play at York’s Community Stadium will be during their second match of RWC 2025 – against South Africa on 31 August, and only time will tell if they’re able to keep building on the positives they have taken from their first game of a hugely important year for women’s rugby.
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