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This is the best Italy Six Nations XV of all time, as voted for by the fans
Italian rugby fans have voted for the ‘ideal’ Italy XV of the Six Nations, with just three current players making the cut. Over five thousand people participated in the vote for the XV, with fans picking from a squad of fifty-five candidates from the one hundred and ninety players who, from February 5, 2000 to today, who have represented Italy in rugby’s oldest and most prestigious international tournament.
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Head coach went to Pierre Berbizier, the French guru who led Italy between the summer of 2005 and autumn of 2007, guiding them to fourth place in the Six Nations 2007 thanks to an away victory over Scotland and a home win over Wales. It was a close call, with Berbizier earning 26.2% of the votes, beating off John Kirwan (22%) and Nick Mallett (20%).
Andrea Masi, MVP of the 6 Nations 2011, grabbed the 15 jersey with 67.7% of the votes. He’s joined by modern-day boy wonder, Matteo Minozzi (40%) and the hulking Giovanbattista Venditti (23.1%) on the wings.
Nearly 50% of the preferences for outside centre went to Michele Campagnaro (48.9%), while inside centre went to Mirco Bergamasco ( 23.1%). Sharpshooter Diego Dominguez sailed to the No.10 jersey with 69.7% votes, while inside him at 9 is another Italian in legend Alessandro Troncon (61.6% ), the first Italian to break the 100 caps milestone.
It will surprise no one that Sergio Parisse is named at No.8 with 87.2% of the vote. It makes you wonder what the other 12.8% were thinking. At seven is the nearly equally legendary Mauro Bergamasco, who served Italy from 2000 to 2015. He bagged 49.4% of the votes, while Simone Favaro had to fight considerably harder for his place at blindside with 27.2%.
Captain of the unforgettable campaign of 2007, Marco Bortolami, garnered 57.3% of the votes and won the number 5 shirt, while Carlo Checchinato (18%) fought off Quintin Geldenhuys by three percentage points (15%).
The mighty and hairy Martin Castrogiovanni collected 86.8%, with Andrea Lo Cicero grabbing 56% of the votes at loosehead. while Leonardo Ghiraldini concluded the team at hooker with 57.5% of the votes.
#XVideale di #Italrugby: la migliore Italia del @SixNationsRugby scelta da voi ??
ADVERTISEMENTGrazie agli appassionati che hanno dato il proprio voto tramite la piattaforma #Fanize ?
Tutti i dettagli sulla formazione ? https://t.co/dGn3VxG7NN#Insieme, verso le prossime sfide ? pic.twitter.com/Msi2acvDkD
— Italrugby (@Federugby) May 16, 2020
THE BEST ITALIAN SIX NATIONS XV
15 Andrea Masi (95 caps, 67,7%)
14 Matteo Minozzi (19 caps, 40%)
13 Michele Campagnaro (36 caps, 48,9%)
12 Mirco Bergamasco (89 caps, 23,1%)
11 Giovanbattista Venditti (44 caps, 23,1%)
10 Diego Dominguez (74 caps, 69,7%)
9 Alessandro Troncon (101 caps, 61,6%)
8 Sergio Parisse (142 caps, 87,2%)
7 Simone Favaro (36 caps, 27,2%)
6 Mauro Bergamasco (106 caps, 49,4%)
5 Marco Bortolami (112 caps, 57,3%)
4 Carlo Checchinato (83 caps, 18%)
3 Martin Castrogiovanni (119 caps, 86,8%)
2 Leonardo Ghiraldini (104 caps, 57,5%)
1 Andrea Lo Cicero (103 caps, 56%)
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments