LONG READ Leonardo Marin: 'Italy are preparing to one day win the Six Nations'

Leonardo Marin has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Italian rugby’s new hero made his international breakthrough in 2022, the year the Azzurri finally broke their seven-year losing Six Nations streak in Cardiff. He transitioned from fly-half to centre last year, just in time to link up with childhood friend Tommaso Menoncello as he blossomed into one of the world’s best.

Then on Saturday, he timed his run to gather an offload from his old mate and scurry across the Stadio Olimpico try line to seal an historic first victory over England at the 33rd attempt.

⌚️ Leonardo Marin scoring the decisive try for Italy to seal his side’s first-ever victory over England in a dramatic match at the Stadio Olimpico 🤩#Breitling #DefiningMoment @Breitling pic.twitter.com/FeGh0qWOYk

— Guinness Men’s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 7, 2026

“I’m still thinking about it,” Marin tells RugbyPass four days on from his glorious intervention.

“Before going to bed, I am looking back over pictures I have saved from the game – especially pictures of the try.

“It brings me back, even if it was just three or four days ago, to that emotion. I just hope I have the opportunity to experience that kind of feeling again. It was really pure and amazing.”

Beating England was one of the final hurdles for this record-ripping Italy team to cross; they were the final Six Nations foe the Azzurri had never beaten and one of only two Tier One countries yet to suffer an Italian defeat, along with New Zealand.

We became more mature. Even in training, I’m seeing a different approach compared to last year or November. We are just a more mature team.

Many felt it was their time before the game kicked off. A rain-drenched win over Scotland in week one boosted confidence gritty defeats by Ireland and France had not dampened.

Steve Borthwick’s side, on the other hand, limped to the Eternal City as a wounded animal after back-to-back losses. The ever-improving Italians smelt blood.

“I felt after Scotland, or maybe during the game against Scotland, we changed a bit,” Marin explains.

“We became more mature. Even in training, I’m seeing a different approach compared to last year or November. We are just a more mature team.

“Even going into France and Ireland, which were probably the hardest two games we have had so far, we had the feeling in the 70th minute we would probably still be there competing for the win, and so it was.

“Then going into England, even more so, because they were in a bad moment after two losses. We were confident and also playing at home. [It was] a mix of all these things. But mainly we found our identity, we are consolidating more every year, and this year we made the step up as a team and we are competing with everyone.”

Head coach Gonzalo Quesada has taken Italy to another level since succeeding Kieran Crowley in 2024.

The New Zealander played an instrumental part in the Italian success story, leading them to that duck-breaking win in Wales and a landmark victory over Australia four years ago, but the former Argentina fly-half has accelerated their rise.

Under Quesada, Italy’s Six Nations record is five wins, one draw and eight defeats.

To put that in perspective, he has achieved as many tournament victories in three years as the Azzurri had mustered in the previous 11.

As a team we need to train and prepare to one day win the Six Nations. It might seem like a very far goal, even competing at the World Cup, but that’s what we need to do and what we should do.

That record will get even better if they defeat Wooden Spoon holders Wales in Cardiff on Super Saturday to claim three wins in a single Six Nations campaign for the first time ever. No wonder Marin is feeling confident about the future.

“The ambition is very high here. Even if we might be wrong, or aren’t where we think we are, we don’t care, because we dream big.

“We really think deep inside our group we can compete with everyone. We don’t want to be the team that just wins once in a while, or one game every Six Nations.

“As a team we need to train and prepare to one day win the Six Nations. It might seem like a very far goal, even competing at the World Cup, but that’s what we need to do and what we should do. Aim there and really train to make that happen.”

That level of ambition would have seemed ludicrous not long ago. But the Azzurri have been building the form and results required to at least entertain the possibility, and in Menoncello they possess a superstar in their ranks who can make them believe.

The Benetton centre will join European giants Toulouse at the end of the season after continuing his rapid rise since being named player of the championship for the 2024 Six Nations.

This year, he ranks in the top six for metres made, defenders beaten, metres per carry, initial breaks, turnovers won and jackals.

The 23-year-old’s brilliant break and rocket-heeled acceleration put Italy in front against England, while his rampaging run down the left wing set Marin up to finish the job.

Few players know the athletic sensation better than fellow Veneto native Marin, who has shared his rugby journey with Menoncello from youth to senior level for club and country.

“We grew up together from Under-18s, playing with junior Italy teams, the Under-20s, the academy, we were together. Then to Benetton and Italy.

“Seeing him with a huge growth… as you all know now, he’s an amazing player with incredible physical talent and ability.

It’s easy to play with Menoncello because we complete each other. He’s more physical than me, and I know I can send him through the defenders, I can pass him the ball and he’s going to do well and go forward.

“He has power and speed, but he also has a talent in his competitiveness and aggression. He’s always very aggressive, very angry, and that’s his strength for me.

“It’s something that for him is natural and makes him a very dominating player in contact, bumping players.

“He’s a great friend; we spend good time together outside the field and that’s even better.”

Menoncello told RugbyPass in an exclusive interview last year he wanted to “be considered one of the best centres in the world”, and Marin didn’t hesitate when asked if he was already there: “For me yes, for sure.”

The old friends formed the starting centre partnership against Ireland and France and could continue to link up for years to come, with half of the celebrated ‘Brexoncello’ partnership, Juan Ignacio Brex, celebrating his 34th birthday in May.

It is still something of a novelty for Marin, who came through as a fly-half before being seen as a utility back. That versatility was on display when he pulled on the number 15 shirt for the opening-day win over Scotland last month.

However, Quesada last year decided it was time one of his brightest young talents stuck to one role in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup in 2027, and a decision was made between the Italy coach, Benetton and Marin he would focus on centre.

Could Marincello become the next Brexoncello, then?

“I think I found my position; I love to play 12,” Marin said.

“It’s easy to play with [Menoncello] because we complete each other. He’s more physical than me, and I know I can send him through the defenders, I can pass him the ball and he’s going to do well and go forward.”

The Principality Stadium would be a fitting venue for more Italian history, since Cardiff was where it all started for this team. Few will forget Italy’s Super Saturday triumph over Wales in four years ago, when Ange Capuozzo danced through the Welsh defence to send Edoardo Padovani in and end Italy’s seven-year drought in style.

“It was incredible back then,” says Marin, who started at inside centre that day, less than a month after his 20th birthday.

“It really set standards for Italy, for what we wanted to do, and was also a big relief because we had many years of losses.”

Since then, the two nations have gone in different directions, with Italy’s search for another landmark achievement coinciding with Wales looking to avoid a third consecutive wooden spoon.

Considering Italy’s improvement since that seminal win, Marin says: “I definitely think Gonzalo [Quesada] helped us a lot since he came here. There was a big change. It was a long process.

“But we have good players and that is the most important thing, to have quality players. Maybe they didn’t know us before, but we already thought we were good players and could have good potential. We just needed to work.

“You can always do better, but we did the work and after a long process now we are here.

“We’re still not anywhere, because we are not winning the Six Nations, but we are in a good spot compared to four years ago or before. So we should be pretty happy.”