An irrelevant question. Just for fun.

[Big Ewis]

When will Italy win their first Six Nations Championship title ? Doesn't have to be a Grand Slam, just a title.

The winner of this thread will win - nothing at all. And hopefully will still be alive to actually behold his prediction fulfill itself. (har har).

Would you imagine Italy would maybe all of a sudden go through a gradual transformation for the next decade, great players would pop up to form a world class generation which along with coaching would help sculpt a worthy team ? Or the decade after that ?.....

 

[Jaguares]

Well, Scotland doesn't win the tournament since 1999, 15 years ago! And they are a nation with more tradition in rugby. Don't be so hard on the Italians.

Cheers

 

[Packman]

Wasn't it fifty years before France won the 5 nations? I think whenever italy wins a six nations match everyone but the poor country on the receiving end has a party. And just because of that, I'd say they've added a load of colour to the six nations. Wait til Argentina do the same thing down in the southern hem. I mean we got pretty excited when they drew with the Boks last year!

Italy will improve, so long as the English and french clubs don't ostracise their domestic game. they need to be facing the likes of Munster, Ospreys, Glasgow and Leicester to develop further.

 

[Big Ewis]

Wasn't it fifty years before France won the 5 nations?

was hoping nobody would bring this one here...
It's entirely different, you see, France didn't know how to play Rugby until they came back to the Home Nations. Italy had been playing this whole entire time, they got good results well before the new millennium, especially during the 90's.


A few interesting pre-6N final scores:
[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD][TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]25 June 1994[/TD]
[TD]Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne[/TD]
[TD]20 – 7[/TD]
[TD]

Australia[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18 June 1994[/TD]
[TD]Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane[/TD]
[TD]23 – 20[/TD]
[TD]

Australia[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]31 May 1995[/TD]
[TD]Kings Park Stadium, Durban[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]27 – 20[/TD]
[TD]

England[/TD]
[TD]1995 Rugby World Cup[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]10 April 1999[/TD]
[TD]Lansdowne Road[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]39 – 30[/TD]
[TD]

Ireland[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20 December 1997[/TD]
[TD]Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]37 – 22[/TD]
[TD]

Italy[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4 January 1997[/TD]
[TD]Lansdowne Road, Dublin[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]29 – 37[/TD]
[TD]

Italy[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6 May 1995[/TD]
[TD]Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]22 – 12[/TD]
[TD]

Italy[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]24 January 1998[/TD]
[TD]Murrayfield, Edinburgh[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]21 – 25[/TD]
[TD]

Italy[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14 December 1996[/TD]
[TD]Murrayfield, Edinburgh[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]29 – 22[/TD]
[TD]

Scotland[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]7 February 1998[/TD]
[TD]Stradey Park, Llanelli[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]23 – 20[/TD]
[TD]

Wales[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5 October 1996[/TD]
[TD]Stadio Olimpico, Rome[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]22 – 31[/TD]
[TD]

Wales[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16 January 1996[/TD]
[TD]National Stadium, Cardiff[/TD]
[TD="align: center"]31 – 26[/TD]
[TD]

Wales[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]

[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TD]18 October 1997[/TD]
[TD]Auch[/TD]
[TD]30 – 19[/TD]
[TD]

France[/TD]
[TD]2nd Coupe Latine de Rugby[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22 March 1997[/TD]
[TD]Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble[/TD]
[TD]32 – 40[/TD]
[TD]

Italy[/TD]
[TD]1995-97 European Cup final[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]


So they'd been pro and competitive well before the new millennium and Rugby, though not flourishing throughout the boot-shaped nation, had been introduced in the culture for a long time already.