Rugby. Zuliani turns them all upside down: ‘You have to think before tackling’

The statistic was disclosed a couple of weeks ago by Sam Larner, one of the most popular analysts in the oval world. Do you know who is the Urc’s most effective tackler? Attention, not the most precise: in the championship that brings together the best teams from South Africa, Italy, Wales, Scotland and Ireland there is more than one with 100% success. We’re talking about what makes you feel the most, which makes that gesture an investment for your team. It is Manuel Zuliani, 23, third row of Benetton Treviso and Italy, on the field against Samoa and South Africa in the November tests (against Australia he was injured). He’s the best because when he stops the ball carrier he does it forward, or maybe imposes a “kept” on him, or doesn’t allow him to “recycle” possession. Manuel is the one who more than all the others knows when to go and block the opponent’s arms, or go to his legs, or on his waist, who knows how and when to pump on his legs to push him back, knows how to leverage to make him fall from his part and immediately after jump on him to try to snatch possession or force the hold. Behind every single tackle there is a science and he is the professor.

In the myth of McCaw

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Born in Castelfranco, raised in the village, passed through the under 18 academy of Treviso and the national one of Remedello, from weekend to weekend this flanker is establishing himself at absolute levels, so much so that he has become a staple for Crowley. He has been playing since he was six years old, he grew up in the Richie McCaw myth (“To encourage me, my coach Renato Rossi told me that I would become like him”, he smiles) and now that he has become a professional, he still finds time to train the under 15s of his training club. As for Marco Bortolami, who leads him from the Benetton bench, speaking to him one gets the impression of a bet made some time ago and that the former blue captain is starting to win. Last weekend, that of the Challenge defeat in Paris with the Stade, Zuliani had enjoyed a week of rest after the international window; for Saturday’s match in Bayonne he will be present instead. He talks on the phone on Wednesday, the green-and-whites’ day off, and he does it from Ghirada, where he first had a session in the gym and then worked with the physiotherapists. “Exercises for stabilizing the shoulder – he explains -. I have to keep her trained, I’ll have to do it until the end of her career. I hurt myself in the second year of under 18, during a Benetton-Mogliano in Ghirada. I was doing a “held”, a somewhat fierce opponent entered me with his shoulder closed on mine”. There another story began. “I had to work a lot – he continues -. However, I entered the Remedello Academy injured, for months I had to recover, work in the gym. He helped me a lot because it allowed me to focus my work. Before I was among those poised between the grandstand and the bench, I certainly wasn’t a starter. I closed in on myself, I worked on my shoulders to recover performance, I was almost afraid of making contact, I lacked the malice I had before. The year ended, I was not called up for the under 20 World Cup in Argentina (2019, the one for Ange Capuozzo’s first blue shirt, ed), then the second year in the academy began, that of Covid, and I resumed working in the gym and in the field. I have to thank Andrea Moretti (then coach of the Academy, now in charge of the blue scrum, ed) who helped me a lot. The injury allowed me to understand that rugby is above all discipline. Every day I get up in the morning with the thought of improving what I had done the day before”.

Advancement and growth

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“Larner’s is a statistic I know – attacks Marco Bortolami -, and it is the confirmation of what we have seen in him. Manuel is an extremely effective player in everything he does, not just when he tackles; for example he is very solid in the meeting points and is a powerful ball carrier, capable of advancing in one-on-one situations. He is developing in the game, in the physical consistency required by the senior level, he is making great strides. He has been trusted and he deserves it.” Nicola Gatto, Benetton video analyst, explains what we are talking about. “When you collect tackle stats, the first breakdown you make is between successful and missed tackles. But then on the successful ones we go deeper: there are the effective ones, when you stop the bearer on the point or send him back, and the ineffective ones, in which perhaps the opponent still manages to recycle the ball for a teammate; then there are various cases, for example a tackle can be considered effective even if the collision loses but you are catching up, in short you are chasing the opponent; the tackle is also positive when you lose possession, when you send the opponent into touch. Manuel is first in this type of classification: not the most precise, but the most effective. And it’s incredibly explosive.” Bortolami adds: “With Calum MacRae (defense coach, ed) and Julian Salvi (responsible for the breakdown, ed) we do a lot of contact technique work. We call them close quarter skills, short range skills. These are situations in the match that have to be managed in fractions of a second, the back rows are always on the razor’s edge, their gestures are always on the edge. Last year Zuliani was maybe a little too wrong, now he’s making a big progression. Manuel has developed great expertise. He knows what he needs and how to work it, he is a very trainable athlete and very intelligent. I’ve known him since he was at the under 18 training center, back then he didn’t seem to have such high level skills. I think he made the breakthrough in the under 20s, he has matured physically but above all mentally, a real quantum leap. What made him grow was his mentality, he has always worked very hard. And he’s tough.” “I started to get so interested in tackling in Treviso – adds Zuliani -, first with Marius Goosen, now with MacRae. You have to understand the situation you’re in and if you get used to it in training, it’s instinctive in the game. Let’s say I react to what I read, I focus on interpreting what’s happening, on what the opponent is about to do. If he puts the ball under his chest, for example, I know that it will go straight in and a certain type of work needs to be done, if he holds it in his hands he could make a “pop” for the trocar, or prepare for the offload. The important thing is to read the situation”.

What future?

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Third line, then. But in what role? Because a world opens up between those three shirts. “We are playing with a third line Zuliani-Cannone-Lamaro – adds Bortolami -, which perhaps however is too low. In my head I would like to have two top-level alternatives for each role, so I believe that more than a number 6, Zuliani could be a number 7, an excellent alternative to Michele Lamaro. He can also play number 6 but maybe he is missing a few centimetres; in my opinion the role of him is 7 ”. “I feel like a flanker – concludes Zuliani -, I also try to improve in lineouts, especially in the defensive ones, to get used to playing 6. I want to be flexible to find space in the team”.