O’Shea: We will need to don tin helmets against England
Conor O’Shea says his Italy players have a point to prove at Twickenham, writes Mick Cleary in Sirmione
C onor O’Shea is at ease in his surroundings, suitably so with the battlements of the 13th century Rocca Scaligera on the Lake Garda peninsula rising through the early morning mist behind him. The Italy head coach is all too aware of the need to encourage his troops to man the barricades for their trip to Twickenham on Sunday.
It does not have to be pointed out to O’Shea that Italy face a potential thrashing next weekend, for Eddie Jones has already publicly primed his side to “take Italy to the cleaners”, an invocation in keeping with the tone of last year’s rallying call to give their maligned opponents “a good hiding”. There is no offence taken on O’Shea’s part. He knows the reality of the fallout from Italy’s shattering 63-10 defeat by Ireland at the Stadio Olimpico eight days ago, their second successive loss at home after an opening weekend defeat by Wales.
“It’s raw, it hurts and we all know that there is a mountain to climb, and yes, Everest next weekend,” said O’Shea, who admitted that he had endured a sleepless night following the Ireland loss. “We will don tin helmets, show real resilience and portray to the watching world what Italian rugby is really about. We know that some say we are playing for our future. Italy needs support and help through a difficult period.
“Sportsmen are often defined with how they cope with adversity. These testing times could be good for our young players. The manner of the defeat to Ireland was horrible, truly horrible. That was not a proper reflection of us.
“I didn’t expect anything less from Eddie in what he said. It’s fine by me, not an issue. We need to understand that that is the mindset of elite opponents. They expect to win, and win well, and so will play differently, attack more. It is hard. It is up to us to deal with that.”
O’Shea had a couple of hours’ coffee-shop chat with Jones over the Christmas period when he was back in England, picking the Australian’s brains on integrating into a new culture. It can be an isolating experience.
The former Harlequins director of rugby knew that there would be times like this, low times, troubling times, reflective times. Many think Italy should be subject to relegation from the Six Nations, that they are no longer worthy of their place at the top table. That clamour has intensified.
O’Shea has had plenty of occasion to ponder such matters on his regular Saturday morning rides with a cycling group in his adopted home town of Sirmione, some 25 miles from Verona, chosen not for the splendour of the backdrop but as a midpoint between the two rugby franchises in Treviso and Parma.
Much as O’Shea acknowledges that Italy have brought this latest barrage of barbs on themselves, he bristles at the notion that they should be dumped from the tournament after finishing bottom 11 times since they were admitted in 2000.
“There is a deep history of rugby in Italy, plenty of good players and they have earnt the right to compete,” said O’Shea, who was appointed to the role last May as much for his organisational ability in establishing academies and infrastructure as he was for his sharp-end coaching ability.
“We beat South Africa in November and have defeated all the Six Nations teams except England. I bridle about talk of relegation. If it comes to that, and it shouldn’t, what about expansion?
“But we can’t keep giving opportunities for easy headlines. We realise that, recognise too that such debate happens. I know I am judged on results. Fair enough. But there is a lot to do here. Italy had a terrific team when they were admitted to the Six Nations but they didn’t properly move on from then. Other countries have got better, while Italy have stayed the same. And they have to make changes or they will fall further behind. I have to drag up the whole system to the right levels. But we are having to adapt on the run, like a singer being thrown into a West End musical while still taking lessons.”
O’Shea left Sirmione on Friday morning for a meeting in Milan to
sort out an upscaled conditioning programme for players. O’Shea knows that he will have to contest as many gruelling battles in the committee rooms as his team will on the field. Italian rugby needs a good shake-up from top to bottom. There are sure to be a few bust-ups.
But the 46-year-old is committed to the task. He has bought an apartment on the edge of Sirmione, where his wife and two young daughters, Isabella and Olivia, are settled, and he travels to Verona for weekly Italian lessons, intending soon to boost his fluency with a 40-hour crash course, as recommended by the Irish ambassador in Rome. That rugby has a certain hold in Italy was shown by the number of times O’Shea was stopped for selfies by locals on Thursday. The public have certainly not turned on their man.
“Things have drifted here,” said O’Shea. “An Italian I met at a sports commune was a basketball star 20 years ago and he told me that rugby reminded him of how his own sport failed to advance. You have to keep progressing, keep pushing, and Italy hasn’t. You can’t wave a magic wand at it and it’ll all be solved. It will take time, but it can be done. There are good young players here.”
So much for the medium and long-term objectives. The short term is rushing towards O’Shea and his men. So, in terms of upturns, what about England’s post the 2015 World Cup?
“Eddie has done an incredible job, but credit to Stuart [Lancaster] before him, who brought those players through the system,” said O’Shea, who was part of that Rugby Football Union system himself. “I remember being down in Bath about 10 years ago watching this kid called Owen Farrell, 15 at the time, getting special dispensation to play with the England Under-18 age group and standing out even then, the other lads rushing to be in his gang as if in a playground, hanging out with the main man.
“That English system, spotting talent, nurturing it, conditioning it, getting kids exposure, took years to set up. That is our aim. There are many proud figures here, like Sergio Parisse, Simone Favaro, good guys, high-end athletes. I saw the hurt in the dressing-room after the Ireland game. The team made 214 tackles with an 88 per cent success rate. That is not a sign of a side that has thrown in the towel.
“The changing-room was shocked afterwards, but there will be no hairdryer gee-up from me. The players have enough with others telling them they’re c---. They will be up for it. We will be ready for Twickenham. And let people make their judgments. It is up to us to earn respect.”
Italy are in good hands, but they need stirring deeds on the field to quieten the critics. Twickenham on Sunday provides just that opportunity.