The man who played 142 Tests wearing the Azzurri blue on his back, who spent nearly 20 years as the most respected forward in the world whilst leading a team he once admitted were simply fighting to avoid the wooden spoon, now watches this Italian generation with something approaching wonder.<\/p>\n
Sergio Parisse<\/a> is not short of analysis; anyone who knows him knows he\u2019s never short of it. But when he turns his focus to the Olimpico on Saturday, something sharpens in him. This is the match he always believed was possible; he just never quite got there himself.<\/p>\n There is a moment in the early days of this Six Nations<\/a> when Italy\u2019s identity shifted in public perception, quietly but permanently. It happened not in Rome but in Paris, where a French side of genuine world-class quality emerged from the Stade de France having just played what Antoine Dupont described as the most physical Test of the season, despite having won. Thomas Ramos said the same thing independently, that this was the most physical Test of their season, against Italy<\/a>. When France\u2019s superstars start volunteering that information, the argument about whether this Italian side deserves respect is settled.<\/p>\n New generation\u2019s experiences<\/p>\n Parisse has watched it all with the particular lens of a man who knows exactly what the view looks like from the other side.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat strikes me most about this Italian team,\u201d he says, \u201cIs that they are a completely new generation with completely different experiences to the one I was part of. I listened to Tommaso Menoncello and Michele Lamaro talking in the build-up this week about how this group came of age together, about how they watched us struggle, watched us fight every Six Nations simply to avoid the wooden spoon, and what was remarkable was that they didn\u2019t say it with any sense of shame.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said it as their origin story. They understand where they came from. But they also know, absolutely and without question, that they are something else entirely now. They believe they can win; they have the reference points, the results, the performances to prove that they can win. They are no longer the whipping boys of this tournament and yes, they are fighting for a top-three finish.\u201d<\/p>\n That sentence deserves dwelling on. Top three, in a Six Nations that contains France, Ireland and England<\/a>. It is not bravado, because Parisse has been around long enough to deal only in facts. It is a statement of revised possibility, supported by the evidence of a team now ranked above both Scotland and Wales, having beaten both of them in recent Test rugby.<\/p>\n What makes Saturday so compelling is not simply what Italy bring, it is what this fixture has historically done to England, and what it no longer does.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time that I can remember,\u201d Parisse says, \u201cEngland are under genuine pressure coming into this game. And that is not a small thing. The dynamic has always been the same. England don\u2019t really talk about the Italy fixture. It exists in their schedule, and they address it, but the conversation has never been about whether they win. It has always been about the margin. How many? That has been the question England ask themselves before coming to Rome. And for the first time, that question has changed. This is the first time England genuinely do not want to talk about the Italian threat, because the Italian threat is real and they know it.\u201d<\/p>\n Rassie Erasmus doubles down on Italy praise and his \u2018wouldn\u2019t be surprised\u2019 warning to England<\/a><\/p>\n Test rugby is decided by three things<\/p>\n That is a remarkable thing to hear from the man who endured that particular condescension more times than any other player in the history of the game.<\/p>\n The popular conversation heading into Rome has been dominated by the centre matchup, and the fascination is understandable. Nacho Brex and Menoncello are as good a pairing as exists in world rugby right now, full stop. Against them, Steve Borthwick has turned to a rookie combination in Seb Atkinson and Tommy Freeman, two players whose age group familiarity gives them more mutual understanding than you might initially assume, but who are at the start of a journey those two Italy centres have largely completed.<\/p>\n Parisse, though, is not interested in letting the narrative settle there. \u201cI think the whole conversation about the centre matchup, as fascinating as it is, misses the real contest,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cTest rugby at this level is decided by three things, and it has always been decided by those three things. The set-piece. The breakdown. And who can defend. When you look at Italy through that lens, the picture looks very different to the one the media are painting.\u201d<\/p>\n On the scrum, Italy\u2019s advantage will worry Steve Borthwick. They won four penalties against the South African pack in November. The Springbok scrum is a renowned force, and extracting that kind of return from it requires genuine technical dominance. Parisse knows this territory intimately.<\/p>\n \u201cItaly\u2019s scrum is a weapon,\u201d he says flatly. \u201cFour penalties against South Africa in November tells you everything. That is not luck and it is not one good day. That is a front row with the technical quality and the physicality to dismantle one of the best scrums in the world \u2013 Simone Ferrari and Danilo Fischetti are both world-class operators and England will feel that on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n The lineout presents a more complicated picture. Italy were exposed by France but competed credibly against both Scotland and Ireland, and there is a telling subplot in England\u2019s team selection. Borthwick has opted for Jamie George over Luke Cowan Dickie, widely considered the superior scrummager, with the selection call rooted primarily in lineout architecture.<\/p>\n England are travelling to Rome with two primary jumpers against Italy\u2019s four, and the arithmetic of that contest, should Italy\u2019s driving maul become a platform in the closing quarter, is uncomfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cI find it very interesting that England have gone with Jamie George ahead of their better scrummager,\u201d Parisse says. \u201cIt tells you what England are worried about. They\u2019re trying to shore up their lineout and they know they\u2019re facing a significant threat there. But four jumpers against two is a substantial difference in an 80-minute contest, and Italy will really look to push an advantage there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018They mean business\u2019 \u2013 Ben Earl on the \u2018glint\u2019 within the England camp and those that haven\u2019t \u2018pulled their weight\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The breakdown and England\u2019s leadership<\/p>\n It is the breakdown and the collision work that Parisse returns to with the most conviction, and this is where his analysis cuts deepest. \u201cWhat people don\u2019t always appreciate about this Italy side is how extraordinary their standards are in the parts of the game that don\u2019t look spectacular but win Test matches,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe call it no skill excellence,\u201d he grinned.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m talking about their ability to get off the floor immediately, to reset, to get back into the defensive line and repeat that at the same intensity from the first minute to the last. The willingness to compete physically for eighty minutes without any drop in that standard. As noted earlier, Dupont said after Paris that it was the most physical Test of France\u2019s season and Ramos said the same thing. France won that game. But the two best players on the pitch were still talking about the Italian physicality in the press conference afterwards. That tells you precisely what level this team operates at.\u201d<\/p>\n England\u2019s breakdown record under Borthwick has been a contested area throughout this championship cycle. Italy\u2019s capacity to generate turnovers, slow ball and reverse momentum at the ruck will test a team whose attacking identity depends on continuity and tempo.<\/p>\n \u201cEngland want to play high-possession rugby,\u201d Parisse notes. \u201cBut they are playing that game against a side with arguably a greater jackling threat, a greater steaming threat at the breakdown than they themselves have. Italy can take that ball away. And when you take the ball away from a high-possession team, you don\u2019t just stop one phase. You change everything about how they function.\u201d<\/p>\n The leadership question surrounding England is one Parisse raises with what sounds like genuine curiosity rather than point-scoring.<\/p>\n \u201cNine new players coming into this squad is significant,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I think the question that hasn\u2019t been fully answered is, when England are under pressure in Rome, when Italy start hot and the crowd is behind them and things are not going to plan, who in that back line stands up and changes it? Who looks at what\u2019s not working and has the authority and the clarity to do something different? England have, throughout this tournament, shown a tendency to stay within their own system even when the system is struggling and to fail to feel the emotional rhythm of a Test match.<\/p>\n \u201cItaly\u2019s leadership group does not have that problem. Menoncello and Brex are both exceptional leaders. The pack is full of experienced Test players who have been in difficult moments and come through them. Lamaro, Fischetti, Cannone, these are players who know how to play their own game regardless of what the scoreboard says.\u201d<\/p>\n