Think for a second about Italian rugby and your preconceived ideas of a male breeding ground more accustomed to disappointments in the Tournament than to blows. Roll them into balls and throw them in the nearest trash can. Sunday, March 27, Annick Hayraud’s Bleues face the XV of Italy in a shock that has nothing similar to those disputed by their male counterparts. If the XV of France, particularly ambitious in this Six Nations Tournament, is favorite, dismissing the players of Andrea Di Giandomenico will not be an easy task.
If the Italian rugby practiced by girls struggles even more to structure itself on the national territory than that of boys, the players are gradually establishing themselves in the elite of European rugby. “A lot of players evolve in the French championship. They come to have a championship, structures to prepare well”, specifies the coach of the Blue Annick Hayraud. “The Italians have already made results in the Tournamentshe recalls. Two years ago, they beat us, for example. They were also able to finish second in the Six Nations, something that has never happened with the boys.”she continues.
Indeed, in addition to their runner-up spot stolen in 2019 from the French, the Transalpines finished on the third step of the podium in 2015 and collected three fourth places (2014, 2018, 2020). By way of comparison, the Italians, subscribers to the last and penultimate places, managed to close the podium twice in 2007 and 2013. To mock the performances and belittle those of Kieran Crowley’s players is not the objective here. , it is simply a matter of putting Italy back in its rightful place in the European landscape for girls. And thus underline that the duel of the day is far from being a formality.
True to their reputation, whatever the sport practised, Italian women are “a team that never gives updeciphers Annick Hayraud. It’s a team that looks like us. They play a bit like us, trying to move the ball with footwork. Above all, they contest the rucks. It’s a great team that improves with each outing.”
Same story on the side of the third-line wing and captain of the Blue, Gaëlle Hermet: “We know very well what to expect, even if it’s been a while since we played them. We know some who play with us in the French championship. We expect a rough team that go play ball.”
Everything about aggression, combat and commitment will be even more important against them. We prepared our week to be able to counter the Italians and set up our game to get points.
Gaëlle Hermet, third row and captain of Les Bleuesat franceinfo: sport
Cautious, the Blue ones are. They are also, and above all, ambitious. “The first objective is of course to winagrees Annick Hayraud. Afterwards, in terms of play, we are an ambitious team, if the conditions allow us, we hope to put in place what we are working on in training, our ability to evolve at a certain pace of play in particular. Victory with manner would be all the more precious in this Tournament, which serves as the last great rehearsal before the World Cup in New Zealand, a deadline ticked by the Blues for a while now.
But as the stubborn cliché hammers it, the XV of France must take the matches one after the other. Sunday, the Blues have every interest in drawing inspiration from their last match against the Italians: a 45-20 victory in 2020. Italians who have not played official matches since September 25 against Spain.