Two games, two wins: the best start to a Six Nations we’ve ever had! Our latest opponents, Italy, may only be in their third championship but have had good money pumped into their game. The Italians do suffer from a number of their players competing with clubs abroad, but their confidence was high at the end of last season, when they beat Scotland and avoided the dreaded wooden spoon.
We stayed one hour south of Rome in a mountain village called Segni. It was dark when we arrived, and snowing. The following morning we went for our captain’s run but used a local all-weather surface and not the match pitch – which we caught a horrified glimpse of after training. To say it was ‘a state’ is an understatement: I wouldn’t have put cows out on it! It was very uneven with huge puddles dispersed around it. But the club president assured us it would be playable, and the referee deemed it so, so there was nothing much we could do.
Meal-time that evening was great fun as we were all around one big table, like a big Italian family. And the food was classic Italian fare, so there was no moaning about it. After dinner we had our usual video analysis, and confidence was high.
We dispersed after the meeting, with people finding different ways to relax. Some went to see Slumdog Millionaire, others explored the town, while some just sat around having a chat. It depends on your mood.
Next morning we went through our standard pre-match routine – a units session, eating and a meeting. Then we arrived at the pitch in Colleferro, where we saw a big improvement from the night before, as they had put down sand and rolled the pitch. It was still uneven, but playable.
As this was a small town hosting their first international game, they went all out. The local police gave us a guard of honour, the media were there to publicise the event, all local schools were given tickets and the local band played the national anthems. The match ball was even flown in by helicopter!
Possession-wise, we started very well. But the one time Italy got into our half they came away with a try. At half-time we were leading 8–5 and knew we had our work cut out for us.
At the beginning of the second half Italy scored two tries in short succession and the momentum seemed to be with them. But a positional change proved key for us: Jo O’Sullivan moved from full-back to out-half and controlled the game. We started to build up steam and won by 35–17 – quite comprehensive in the end.
Later that evening the town organised a fireworks display, which was absolutely amazing. Every time we thought the festivities had finished something more spectacular would happen - culminating in a function held at a beautiful hotel in the mountains. No expense was spared.
After a game we are just so hungry, but the Italians eat differently – they have four different courses spread throughout the evening. It is a very nice way to eat but when you are starving you want the food immediately. But all in all, everyone had a great night. We didn’t get back to our hotel until 1.30am and were up at five to catch our flight. Needless to say we weren’t the happiest bunch on the plane.
Our next game is against England tommorrow (Friday 27 February) in St Mary’s RFC. It’s a huge one, and we have come close to beating them in recent matches. England will be like a wounded animal as they were beaten by Wales for the first time in history last weekend, but at this stage, the competition is wide open.
Fiona Coghlan is an Irish International rugby player. Her column appears every fortnight in Metro Éireann
