The Six Nations rugby, which starts on February 6 with Italy playing in France, returns to Sky after nine years, which will broadcast the entire tournament on Sky Sport Arena, Sky Sport 1 and free-to-air on Tv8, as well as in streaming. on Skygo and NowTV. Live on Sky Sport Arena also all the matches of the under 20 national team (the matches between the end of March and April also those of the women’s national team) while the other matches of the youth tournament will be broadcast on a delayed basis.
And from the Sky studies, also in connection with the withdrawal of the national team in Verona, the tournament was presented, in the presence of the president of Coni Malagò, the federal president Marzio Innocenti, the captain of the national team Michele Lamaro and the coach Kieran Crowley. News in terms of sponsors: on the jersey of the senior national team there will be Bitpanda, the Austrian digital investment platform, while the entire Six Nations women will have TikTok as title sponsor. Even the oval now becomes digital.
However, fans are interested in knowing what the prospects and ambitions are in the Tournament of a national team that has missed the appointment with the victory since 2015. Marzio Innocenti, former Italian captain, lives this edition as a rookie in the role of president and aims at understatement: «It will be one of the most difficult tournament ever because it includes the European nations that regularly beat their rivals from the southern hemisphere in the autumn test matches. Our boys shouldn’t feel under scrutiny, and neither should the coach, we are creating a young group that will take us to the World Cup in France in 2023, the important thing is that everyone does their duty and we can hope to build a great national team ». After twenty years of Six Nations, in short, we are still in the role of freshmen. The federal management changes but the objectives remain vague and fixed in the future that is certainly not in the short term. Innocenti acknowledged the fundamental role of presidents such as Mondelli and Dondi, to whom the entry into the tournament is due, but nevertheless reserved arrows to previous managements: «How did we manage to squander the wealth of enthusiasm following entering the Six Nations? By looking only at the immediate, instead of planning for the future. By hitting players at the first misstep (the example according to Innocenti is Riccardo Bocchino, ed) and thus completely losing credibility. We cannot be satisfied with a win every now and then, but aim for a stable result. After all, we are here to change a status quo that sees us in the role of losers. I am not asking the boys to win the Six Nations, but in 140 years of life the Six Nations has shown that there are no games with a predictable result ». And here the joke would arise spontaneously, but it is better to avoid and open a credit line.
Crowley, a very noble coach – from New Zealand, was the extreme of the All Blacks world champions in 1987, when he also crossed paths with the Innocenti player and blue captain – instead has a recipe against the recurring rumors that would like to exclude Italy from the Six Nations. “Each time we hear this question asked. Well, let’s put in a promotion and demotion mechanism, and see if there is anyone better than us. However, I do not think that the proposal will ever pass, because it can also happen to other nations to have a bad year: let’s think of England last year. Furthermore, it is obvious that it is up to us to deny these rumors on the field ». Crowley then opened to a future call-up by Sergio Parisse, a 38-year-old former historic blue captain who today plays in Toulon but would like a last catwalk with the national team. We could see him on the pitch in the last two days of the tournament: “I am in close contact with him, in the autumn he fractured his hand (and then he had the covid, ed), as soon as he returns to play with his club we will talk about it again”.
Michele Lamaro, a young blue captain, admitted that his fellow citizen Matteo Berettini in Australia is also inspiring him: «We would all like to see his semi-final against Nadal, unfortunately it will be in the middle of the night. He is a serious sportsman, of great value and the last three sets he played against Monfils should be an example to everyone ».
After their debut in France, Italy will play their first home match in Rome against England on February 13: a capacity of 50 percent is expected at the Olimpico, but Fir hopes for a further expansion for the public.
Here is the complete tournament schedule:
FIRST DAY
Saturday 5th February 2022
3.15 pm, Ireland-Wales (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
5.45pm, Scotland-England (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Sunday 6 February 2022:
Ore 16, France-Italy (Stade de France, Paris).
SECOND DAY
Saturday 12 February 2022
3.15pm, Wales-Scotland (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
5.45 pm, France-Ireland (Stade de France, Paris)
Sunday 13 February 2022
Ore 16, Italy-England (Olympic Stadium, Rome)
THIRD DAY
Saturday 26 February 2022
3.15pm, Scotland-France (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
5.45pm, England-Wales (Twickenham, London).
Sunday 27 February 2022
Ore 16, Ireland-Italy (Aviva Stadium, Dublino)
FOURTH DAY
Friday 11 March 2022
Ore 21, Galles-Francia (Principality Stadium, Cardiff).
Saturday 12 March 2022
Ore 15.15, Italy-Scotland (Olympic Stadium, Rome)
5.45 pm, England-Ireland (Twickenham, London).
FIFTH DAY
Saturday 19 March 2022
Ore 15.15, Wales-Italy (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
5.45 pm, Ireland-Scotland (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
9 pm, France-England (Stade de France, Paris)