SHOCK absorber
When it comes to upsetting Ireland, Italy’s boss has form
THERE wasn’t an award for the best turned-out coach at the Six Nations launch in Dublin last month, but Gonzalo Quesada would have been short odds to land the prize.
Bedecked in an all-navy suit and oozing charm, the former Pumas out-half took his seat the top of the press conference room on the second floor of the Guinness Storehouse. These launches can be cagey affairs, but the affable Argentinian took all the questions from the floor in his stride.
Not only did he engage with all the queries with ease, he effortlessly switched between Italian, English and French. At times, Quesada even translated some of his own answers.
Inevitably, a question about that infamous night in Lens came up, more on that later. Most coaches would give such a line of questioning a straight bat on the eve of a big tournament. Quesada was happy to take a trip down memory lane and recall a few anecdotes from a notorious night in Irish rugby history.
When the 49-year-old finished up and exited stage left, there was a general consensus that Italy could make some strides. We thought he would be a breath of fresh air for this talented, young squad.
Because the previous coaching regime of Kieran Crowley and Neil Barnes were hardly a barrel of laughs.
If you haven’t seen Full Contact, imagine Statler and Waldorf watching a game of rugby. The permanently cranky Kiwis were arguably the stars of the recent Netflix docuseries. Neither felt the need to use a word of Italian as the latest dressing-down arrived across the floor.
Crowley and Barnes, for all their coaching nous and work ethic, didn’t seem to connect with this Azzurri players on an emotional level. They had an old-school approach. It all wore a bit thin, clearly.
Quesada seems a far more worldly character. He has the coaching CV to back up all the emotional intelligence, too.
After a brilliant playing career, he first dipped his toes into the coaching game with the French national team. A metronomic kicker — a bit too metronomic at times — he was drafted onto Marc Lievremont’s backroom team as a kicking coach. It was a turbulent time in the set-up with rumours of a player revolt during the 2011 World Cup as Lievremont become increasingly sidelined by the senior players.
It was a successful time as well with France sealing a Grand Slam in 2010 and well as making the final of that controversial World Cup campaign.
Quesada (right) became an increasingly influential figure in the coaching team and his stock began to rise.
Racing 92 was his next gig — crossing paths with Ronan O’Gara along the way — before his first big appointment with Stade Francais, the big-spending Parisian club which was high on glamour but short on success. No matter, Quesada guided the club to Top14 glory — beating Clermont in the hard-fought final at Stade de France — in 2015, the club’s first French league title since 2007.
Quesada’s French coaching journey took him to Biarritz for a season before a call from home. Argentina’s landmark and now defunct Super Rugby team, the Jaguares needed a new head coach after Mario Ledesma — the former Argentina hooker and teammate of Quesada — stepped up to replace Daniel Hourcade as Pumas boss. Again, Quesada did some great things, guiding the club to a Super Rugby final against the Cruasaders in 2019, the star-studded Kiwis edging the game in Christchurch.
After the Jaguares project ran aground, Quesada returned to Stade Francais for three seasons before Italy, the perennial strugglers in the Six Nations, came calling for his services.
After a miserable World Cup, which featured a humiliating 96point drubbing by the All Blacks in the pool stages, there was a sense that Italy needed a new voice in the coaches’ box.
A character who understood what made the Italians tick. Merging that Latin passion with some modern thinking is seemingly Quesada’s approach.
‘I’m Latin,’ the Italy head coach said recently.
‘I have an Anglo-Saxon way of thinking but I feel like emotions are really important, like any human being, but more so from Italy especially when we talk about rugby.
‘That hurt and passion, maybe we can fire that up a little more and go back to those roots and use them as the basics to play the way we want to play, defend the way we need to defend and have a set-piece.
‘We need to make stronger contact with that Latin side of the Italian team.’
Polo and tennis are his big passions outside rugby. He lived near Roland Garros during his time in France. He is a big admirer of Rafael Nadal. He has spent time with the likes of Scott Robertson, Michael Cheika and Tana Umaga, learning from the best on the coaching beat. He knows his stuff but, crucially, he knows how to connect with players and get his message across.
Last weekend’s narrow loss to England in Rome was a positive first outing. There was plenty of attacking flair. And some nice structure as well. Italy have some fine players at their disposal, including Ange Capuozzo, Paolo
His coaching CV backs up his emotional intelligence
Garbisi, Juan Ignacio Brex, Sebastian Negri and the Cannone brothers.
On Sunday, they arrive in Dublin to take on an Irish team riding the crest of a wave after a stunning, five-try demolition of France on their home turf. The visitors won’t need to be reminded of their grim record against Ireland, securing just one win — in 2013 — since they joined the championship in 2000.
Italy are used to struggling. Their record of 18 Wooden Spoons in the Six Nations says everything about their standing in this tournament. Quesada may have a look around Aviva Stadium and have a wry smile to himself as the stadium fills up. Irish rugby has certainly come a long way since he was on the field.
Quesada, of course, was front and centre for one of Ireland’s worst days. The last-16 loss to an Argentina team — which was comprised of mostly amateur players — in Lens. The Pumas out-half kicked 23 points in a famous win. A highlight in his 35cap career. The nadir for Ireland.
Interestingly, Quesada’s final game in the white and blue jersey was against Ireland in another intense World Cup game four years later.
Ireland, thanks to Alan Quinlan’s try, edged a nail-biting pool encounter in Adelaide. It was Quesada’s last appearance for his country.
There is no bitterness. Not for a character like this anyway. When it comes to Quesada, there is style and substance. It will be fascinating to see how his Italian team fare this weekend.
Crucially, he knows how to connect with players