Italy woes mean relegation is on agenda – Warburton

FORMER Wales and Lions captain Sam Warburton has said “enough is enough” when it comes to Italy’s involvement in the Six Nations and backed calls for promotion and relegation to be introduced.

The Italians were trounced on the opening weekend of the tournament, slumping to a 50-10 defeat at the hands of the French in Rome.

It served as a stark reminder to just how far off the pace Italy continue to be in the northern hemisphere tournament and many believe some Tier Two nations deserve a crack at the big time.

That is a view Warburton shares, a point he highlighted during the BBC’S coverage of Wales v Ireland on Sunday.

“There’s got to be a change,” Warburton said. “It’s not just throwing your toys out of the pram off one game.

“For quite a few years Italy haven’t really been competitive. I personally think there’s got to be promotion and relegation in the Six Nations.

“Say if it was last year, Georgia, who won the second-tier competition. We can’t keep putting a glass ceiling on these teams in Europe because otherwise how do we know what the growth in Europe is going to be like?

“If that’s the case, Italy come bottom and Georgia win. In the next international window, Georgia should travel to Italy, so Italy still get home advantage and a chance to stay in the competition, for a play-off game.

“That would get some pretty good TV viewings, I’m sure. I’d like to see that.

“I think enough is enough. Italy just don’t have the strength in depth from a player pool point of view. They’re just not good enough to compete at this level right now.”

Former England captain and manager Martin Johnson also weighed in by saying: “It was far too easy for France. We’re sitting here cringing.

“Even when we’ve beaten Italy in the past, they’ve always made it a game. You had to go and beat them, and they were tough defensively. They were physical. They made it very difficult for you. They kept hold of possession and kept it away from you.”