When you think of Rugby, Italy is NOT one of the first countries you think of. But lo and behold, it is one of the six participants in the Six Nations Championship, which is essentially the European Championships. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales have competed in 110 championships. France joined 80 years ago. Italy? 10 years ago and this year is participating in its 11th competition. My friend Frank and I went down to a game in Rome, and although we really don't understand the game, it was fun to watch the hitting and trying to figure out what exactly was going on.
The scrum...
The lineout...
And the crazy hats. The game was against Galles (Wales in Italian) and at least half of the stadium of 32,000 were Welsh. Italy lost 16-24.
That score isn't bad considering Italy lost to England 13-59 two weeks ago. The atmosphere after the game was festive as Frank and I believed that if the Welsh had lost, the fans would have been pissed and angry, whereas for the Italians, they are just happy to be in the tournament and expect losing. The overall record of the Italians in the 11 times they have participated in the Six Nations? 7 Wins, 1 Draw and 50 losses.
That score isn't bad considering Italy lost to England 13-59 two weeks ago. The atmosphere after the game was festive as Frank and I believed that if the Welsh had lost, the fans would have been pissed and angry, whereas for the Italians, they are just happy to be in the tournament and expect losing. The overall record of the Italians in the 11 times they have participated in the Six Nations? 7 Wins, 1 Draw and 50 losses.