There is a big problem in the corridors of power in Italian rugby – the playing staff is not entirely happy with decision makers in the federation while the suits are not happy with the way the team has performed in recent events – leading to almost an all out war between the two in the last couple of weeks.
And Italian skipper Sergio Parisse has come out publicly in order to throw some sense into the matter. The extraordinary events were rolled into motion first when the president of the Italian Rugby Federation or the FIR, Alfredo Gavazzi labelled the players in the team as pensioners for the performance they had put in recent tournaments they had taken part in.
The team had slumped to their worst position in the official world rankings after their dismal display in the Six Nations Championships, dropping down to 15th. This means that they are no longer seen as a part of the elite six of European Rugby after Georgia surpassed them to take over in 14th place.
Italy, led by their charismatic skipper Sergio Parisse, did finish in 5th place in the tournament after a miraculous victory against Scotland but previous defeats by huge margins including 23, 30, 29 and 41 points in their four other games as well as winning only four games in their last 23 matches points to a very sorry state of affairs for the team. Continue reading →