LONG READ 'Diversity is a strength. It’s improved Italy’s rugby and I'm all for it.'

With an Italian mother, a Scottish father, an uncle who played for South Africa, a Turkish wife who he met in Barcelona and son he’s now raising in the south of France, Tommaso Allan’s views on multiculturalism come as no surprise.

“Diversity is a strength,” says the most-capped player in Italy’s squad with 83 appearances for the Azzurri. “Its certainly helped my rugby. Just getting bits and bobs from all the countries I’ve been to and played in. You always get something from other people. It’s improved Italy’s rugby for sure. It’s going to be more and more a norm. I’m all for it.”

Of course Allan’s views are not universally held. Whenever a South African has propped up a Scottish scrum, or a New Zealander has touched down in the corner for Ireland, critics have taken aim at the influx of foreign-born imports in Test rugby. Last year, the Telegraph wrote that “the situation is rapidly entering the realm of absurdity”. That this English institution penned those thoughts after Duhan van der Merwe’s hat-trick sealed a fourth successive Calcutta Cup for Scotland no doubt played a role.

Whether or not one agrees with the current eligibility rules, it is striking that an estimated 163 players at the 2023 World Cup represented adopted nations, continuing an increasing trend over the last three global tournaments. According to research conducted by Paul Tait, who operates the Americas Rugby News website, only Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Uruguay could be classified as 100% “homegrown’.

“For me, it’s a privilege,” says the Australian-born Monty Ioane, who has won 39 caps for Italy since 2021 when he qualified as a resident after spending three years in Treviso with Benetton. “I enjoy being an outsider of sorts. I’m the last non-Italian in the team. All the other guys have some sort of connection to the country.

“[Previously, being an outsider] did bother me. I felt sort of attacked [in the media]. And I got it. Italian rugby was growing and in the eyes of Italian rugby fans they wanted homegrown Italian players. But for me, it’s a wonderful thing. Apart from those people having their say, and they’re a minority, more people are supportive. Way more. I’m proud to represent this country.”

By its nature international sport is a political event. Whenever an athlete steps onto the field wearing the flag of a nation, they carry that nation’s history, mythology and in some cases, shame on their shoulders.

By its nature international sport is a political event. Whenever an athlete steps onto the field wearing the flag of a nation, they carry that nation’s history, mythology and in some cases, shame on their shoulders. They hold the pride and insecurities of its people. Everything that nation represents, everything it hopes to represent, is embodied in that athlete. They become a strand of a much larger story.

Italy’s story has taken a turn since October 2022. Ten years after founding the national-conservative and populist party, the Brothers of Italy, Georgia Meloni became Italy’s first female prime minister on the back of an anti-immigrant, nativist and Eurosceptic agenda. Many leading observers have described Meloni as the most right-wing Italian leader since Benito Mussolini.

Neither Allan or Ioane would be drawn into conversations around neo-fascism or the seemingly ubiquitous failings of the political left around the globe. After all, they are rugby players, not politicians. Besides, both now spend most of their time in France where they play their club rugby.

But it is noteworthy that the rise of Italian rugby has coincided with a rise of Italian nationalism. And though it is surely a coincidence, unlike most Italians, Meloni’s preferred ball is oval. She has been spotted in the stands during Italian games and has heralded some of the traditional virtues of union.

“In rugby all the players on the pitch are protagonists, but there is no room for exaggerated individualism to the detriment of the collective,” she said in 2022. “Above all, rugby teaches that great difficulties, however insurmountable … may be overcome if the whole team fights together for the same goal.”

But what is that goal? Obviously it is winning rugby matches, but almost always a team needs a little more motivation. Since 2018, Rassie Erasmus, both as head coach and director of rugby, has transformed the South African Springboks into a dynastic force. Two World Cups, a British & Irish Lions series win and two Rugby Championship crowns are proof of his pedigree. He’s been blessed with an indomitable pack and has revolutionised the way the team attacks out wide, but perhaps his greatest achievement is the way he has injected a zealous sense of purpose in the team which has compelled them to greater heights.

Rugby games are won by tackle counts, converted entries in the red zone and functioning set-pieces. But perhaps tournaments are won by teams that want it more.

Erasmus has always stated that the group must “keep the main thing the main thing”, meaning that winning games trumps any sense of duty. But he has expertly tethered the struggles and hopes of South Africa to the on-field exploits of his players. When his midfield is defending the line, he has encouraged them to liken opposition ball carriers to home intruders. When he speaks of Siya Kolisi’s rise to become the first black captain of the Springboks, he has highlighted the number of hungry and homeless South Africans that continue to live in squalor. He has said, without a hint or exaggeration, that his team is the only thing that works in the country, pointing out the ineptitude of politicians and the apathy of the wealthy. Rugby games are won by tackle counts, converted entries in the red zone and functioning set-pieces. But perhaps tournaments are won by teams that want it more.

“Every team and every player will have their own motivators,” says Sebastian Negri, who was forced to leave his native Zimbabwe when he was eight-years-old in 2000 due to violent land seizures under the former president Robert Mugabe. He went to high school in South Africa and college in England, but was always eligible to play for Italy thanks to his Italian father. Stints with Italian age-group teams between 2013 and 2015 was shortly followed by a Test debut in 2016.

“For me, when I’m thinking of what I’m representing I’m thinking of my Italian family who gave us a lifeline when we lost our farm in Zimbabwe. So every player will have their own reasons for digging deep. We have our own stories and reasons for putting on the jersey. We each defend our country for our own reasons.

“My Italian family gave me so much. Our Italian heritage helped us when we needed it most. So I’m giving that back to them. I owe it to them to leave my body on the line and basically not respect my body.

“But it comes down to the individuals. Just because you’re from the same country doesn’t mean you have the same background or world view or heritage. I know that the Italian boys play for their families, which is a big motivator in Italian culture. And we all play as underdogs which helps unify us.”

The Italians have in the past been chastised for displaying what could be loosely described as a Latin temperament. Traits like being overly enthusiastic, prone to displays of anger or ill-discipline.

Rugby teams are often branded with particular stereotypes that are linked to the perceived collective identities of the nation. A line can be drawn between Welsh tenacity (traditionally at least) and the coal miners of the valleys. Eddie Jones has tied English fragility in tight games with the apparent entitlement of elite public schools boys. South Africa’s love of red meat has been credited for the Springboks’ abundance of burly tight forwards.

The Italians have in the past been chastised for displaying what could be loosely described as a Latin temperament. Traits like being overly enthusiastic, prone to displays of anger or ill-discipline, flying into contact and losing their shape have been blamed for their inability to seriously challenge for silverware 25 years after joining the Six Nations. It’s a lazy trope, but Allan believes there’s something to it.

“We’re not just a team with a Latin temperament but we still use that,” he says. “We’re more than that but we haven’t forgotten it.” Negri agrees: “Gonz [head coach Gonzalo Quesada] has spoken of our Latin heritage and the fire and spirit and the emotion we play with. If we can enhance that and use it as a strength then we can raise our game.”

Quesada, who played 38 times for Argentina, took charge of Italy in 2024. He replaced the Kiwi Kieran Crowley who had established a solid foundation by instilling greater discipline in the side, but there was a sense that the New Zealander had taken the team as far as he could. Having a coach who shared that Latin temperament, one who could also speak Italian, has been seen as a chance for progress.

“He can obviously connect with the players on a personal level,” Allan says of a coach who is also fluent in English, Spanish and French. “He has taken on the cultural element of team building. Having a Latin coach does help.”

Whether by conscious design, shifting fortunes or the consequences of a successful youth programme, this Italian team has a more homogeneous feel to it than it has in a generation. In a squad of 34, 16 play for Benetton and seven for Zebre Parma, meaning that two thirds of the squad is based in Italy. Barring a few exceptions, almost all of them were born in the country. Only Ioane could unfairly be described as a soldier of fortune.

“That makes me feel special,” Ione says in response. “It’s such an honour. It’s not my country but I’ve been adopted by this wonderful nation and I want to repay the faith. That’s been one of my biggest motivators.”

Ione may be the last of his kind. In October last year the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance published a report that found “Italian public discourse has become increasingly xenophobic in recent years, and political speech has taken on highly divisive and antagonistic overtones particularly targeting refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, as well as Italian citizens with migration backgrounds, Roma and LGBTI persons”.

Thankfully, Italian rugby remains a welcoming space. And thanks to a multicultural group, as well as the previous work of foreign imports, the Azzurri are in the midst of their most successful period in their history.