Italy go to WXV Global Series in a state of flux. They have a new coach, new players have been blooded in and while the team has moved up the ladder, many of the same problems remain.
Plinio Sciamanna is the man tasked with guiding the Azzurri through the tournament, shortly after being named head coach after Fabio Roselli left the role after 18 months.
Roselli was a favorite and continued Italy’s development as a team with a rapier attack in the back line, but there were times when results and performances did not reflect the team’s potential.
Sciamanna knows the team and staff well after five years as one of the team’s assistant coaches and four years leading the Colorna women’s team.
Italy starts with home games against Japan and South Africa September, before two away clashes USA in October.
Recent pattern
Italy’s final score was an impressive 43-24 victory Wales in Cardiff who had seven tries. That rounded off their Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign to ensure they finished fourth.
Before that, they suffered the expected defeats of France and England, i Ireland put them on 57 points to show that the gap between the top three in Europe’s annual rugby shindig and the bottom three is widening. Just two years ago, Blue left Dublin with an impressive 27-21 victory.
They achieved their best performance in Parma when they scored seven tries in defeat Scotland 41-14. They also showed their glory grit (determination) and scored five tries despite being under pressure for most of the match at home to England.
The wins and a positive finish helped shake off the hangover of a very disappointing women’s Rugby World Cup showing in 2025. There were high hopes that it would match the quarter-finals from New Zealand 2022, but were disappointingly knocked out of the tournament.
Italy barely kicked a shot against France in their opener and were punished for a mischievous first half against South Africa in York. They fought back in the second half but could not find an answer to Sinaz Mcatshulwa’s try and went away without a whimper.
They beat Brazil before leaving, but that was little consolation and it took some time for Roselli to pick the team up again. They are now on the rise, and four matches provide an opportunity to maintain the upward momentum.
The biggest tests
Italy will be confident of beating Japan in their opener after enjoying a 33-14 victory in their last meeting in the build-up to last year’s World Cup.
It would not be a surprise if the match against South Africa has been rounding since the end of the Women’s Six Nations. Roselli’s side were rattled by Aseza Hela’s second-minute try and Nadine Roos showed a handful of players at full-back and in the halves. She scored their second goal to open a 12-point deficit. Italy scored four tries, but conceded more points as a result of their own mistakes and South Africa’s manic defending.
Both Tests will take place at the Omero Tognon Stadium in Fontanafredda, deep in Italian rugby country in the north-east of the peninsula. They should attract a decent crowd and give the hosts an edge in their performance.
Win them and the Azzurri will cross the Atlantic in good heart to face a USA Eagles side who tie their two-Test tour to South Africa in July. They lose and will use that week to re-energize against a team that will test them physically as much as South Africa.
Star players
Wherever she plays across the back row, Francesca Sgorbini offers the same three things, hard carrying, hard attacking and hard work on the ball.
The 24-year-old has invested a lot in her career. Sgorbini won 42 caps for Italy and played in two Women’s World Cups, the first in 2022 after fighting back from torn knee ligaments that put her participation in doubt.
She was also in the vanguard of Italian players moving abroad to play professionally, in her case with ASM Clermont in 2020. By then, the Pesaro-born player had already helped Colorno win the Italian Championship in 2019 at the age of 18, the same year she made her Italian debut against England Exeter
Once over the Alps in rugby-mad Clermont Auvergne, Sgorbini settled in quickly while helping out Jaunards win the Elite 1 title.
Sgorbini is one of those players whose results improve in relation to the level of his opponents. Against England this year, she came off the bench and scored two tries. She also led Italy with 63 carries in the tournament, 16 dominant touches and 84 meters after contact.
Along with captain and No. 8 Elisa Giordano and fellow ASM flanker Alisa Ranuccini, the trio showed their importance to the team. Giordano showed her ability to grab the breakdown ball in the Women’s Six Nations with five, while Ranuccini was Italy’s leading tackler with 64.
They will be vital in the WXV Global Series action, first to slow down Japan’s rapid fire and then to face the increasingly aggressive groups of South Africa and USA.
Squad news
All three are part of Sciamanna’s first team as interim head coach, which features five uncapped players and 16 players who play outside of Italy in the 30.
Of their three most likely starting teams, two play in France; fullback Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi from Grenoble Amazones and ASM winger Aura Muzzo, while winger Francesca Granzotto stars in JAECOO Premiership Women’s Rugby for Exeter Chiefs.
Alyssa D’Inca, another player from France who recently switched from center to wing, is injured, meaning a recall for 33-year-old Michela Sillari, who is two caps short of her career and brings experience to the midfield.
Prediction
Italy get unstuck when they start slowly or when they face teams like England and France, who have a better pedigree and are expected to win.
The order of the schedule works in their favor. Japan should offer a comfortable win in their opener and that should give them confidence for a vital clash against South Africa, who will be looking to continue their momentum from the World Cup.
If they haven’t learned the lessons of starting slowly from York, then they’re going to be in trouble. If Sciamanna has his pack trained and ready to fight fire with fire, then there is a very good chance of a second victory.
FIR deserves praise for organizing both matches at the same venue. That means the team can build a base and momentum there without moving sticks to another stadium, while teasing fans over the course of two weeks to make sure seats are filled.
Once they reach the state, they will quickly be disabused of any notion of Southern hospitality during their time in Dallas and Nashville. The USA have little chance to show their home crowd what they can do, and will be determined to take advantage of any opening Italy offers.
Two home wins and one away win should be their target.
