YOUNG GUNS

FRANCOIS ITALY U20 AND CLERMONT CENTRE

ITALIAN rugby may be unearthing its latest young star as Clermont bound Francois Carlo Mey hopes to continue his stellar form into the upcoming U20s Summer Series.

Italy were a surprise package at this year’s U20s Six Nations finishing fourth after impressive wins over England, Scotland and Wales.

Carlo Mey, 18, was influential in Italy’s successful campaign, playing in every game and scoring two tries but is focusing on the future and the ongoing Summer Series, which replaces the cancelled U20s World Cup.

He said: “It was a really nice experience and I hope to get the possibility to do it next year as well but for now I'm focused on the Summer Series. Three wins in the Six Nations was very nice. We could have played a bit better against France and Ireland to get a better result, but they were the two toughest teams to beat, so it's fine we got three wins and we hope maybe next year to improve that total.

“In the Summer Series we hope to play at our best and get the best result possible. Hopefully we can win the three pool games against Georgia, Scotland, and Wales. If we can do that it'll be really nice

and then hopefully go as the first seed in the final.”

The tournament included a first-ever U20s victory over England courtesy of a cagey 6-0 win and outside centre Carlo Mey added: “The game against England was a tough game physically and mentally because it was a close game, so we needed to stay focused the whole 80 minutes. Emotions were high and we were very stoked about the win. We couldn't believe it in the beginning but as the game passed, we started believing in ourselves.”

Italian rugby seems to be enjoying a resurgence after the men’s team broke their seven-year Six Nations duck aided by the wizardry of Ange Cappuozzo and the women’s team secured wins over Scotland and Wales in their tournament.

Carlo Mey said: “I think we're not on the rise just yet but we're starting to get there with the youngsters getting more experience with the clubs, so they go to the national team with fresh energy and enthusiasm to play. They just want to play and show what they can do and that helps in getting the result at the end of the game.

“I think it's getting a bit more visibility but it's still not as popular as football because football is of course the main sport but slowly it can, if U20s, women's and first team improve, it can get more visibility.”

Carlo Mey had been playing for Italian Top 10

feeder side Colorno this season but has just signed for Clermont’s academy.

He said: “Next year I'm going to Clermont in France and joining an esquire team there. I'm really stoked about joining, I'm not thinking a lot about joining now because I'm still focused on the U20s but it's going to be a really great experience. Hopefully I'll train with the first team as well to get a

lot of experience out of it.”BEN