After the moment of praise, however deserved (apart from the first 40′ of Twickenham), the time has come for Italy’s rugby to get down to business. At the Olimpico, where the attendance is approaching over 60,000, Wales arrives, so far the Cinderella of this Six Nations (0 points against 1 for the Azzurri) given that the work of coach Warren Gatland, the New Zealand ‘guru’ who has returned to the red and white bench people, for now has not given the desired results. So also Wales, like Italy which in this match is the favorite (thesis contradicted by the president of the Fir Marzio Innocenti, the very one who had asked the blue XV for two successes before the tournament), is still looking for the first victory, and this it means that Rome will also be a challenge to avoid the wooden spoon, the ‘trophy’ for last place. Therefore, despite the absence of a valuable player like Ange Capuozzo, Italy will have to implement the good game shown up to now in terms of success, which perhaps would have deserved better luck in the home matches against France and Ireland. The conditions are there, the group believes in it, the blue captain Michele Lamaro encourages his team by saying that “we have created something that goes beyond individuality. Capuozzo will be replaced by Allan, who is a splendid player, has a lot of concreteness, he is precise and will give us a big hand”. Mindful of the recent good performances, Lamaro points out that against Wales “there will be more pressure, but it won’t be a final. Perception The perception around us has changed. We know we have to raise the level to earn what we deserve.” And the Welsh? As coach Gatland had never experienced the experience of three consecutive defeats “but this too serves to grow and there is a lot of work to do here because we are in a moment of transition: for some players these could be the last games in the shirt of Wales”. But it will also be interesting to see the behavior of the many Ken Owens fans who have ‘invaded’ Rome. Their rugby federation, grappling with the controversy caused by accusations of “toxic culture” based on misogyny, sexism, racism and homophobia, has asked Welsh supporters to stop the tradition of singing Tom Jones’ 60s hit during the match ‘Delilah’, which is almost an anthem for the national rugby team. This is because the original lyrics of the song contain references to a femicide by an overly jealous partner. No supporter seems willing to accept the invitation and, to a specific request in the streets of Rome, on what they will do tomorrow at the Olimpico, the answer was an unspeakable word which is equivalent to a refusal. Italy-Wales of the Six Nations is also this, and for once nothing ‘politically correct’.
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