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Twenty-five years on from the Scotland 2000 jersey, Carlo Checchinato watches Italian rugby from a different vantage point: as the FIR’s commercial director. On the sidelines of the Gruppo Bevanda Malamocco’s 50th anniversary celebration on Venice Lido, he took stock of Quesada’s Italy: the finances, the academies, the talent — and the “slap” of the summer tour.
Sponsors and finances: an “effervescent” moment
On the commercial front, Checchinato says, the post-Covid era has given way to a “very consolidated” situation: top-tier sponsors on medium and long-term deals, other major partners close to signing, and international projects that could follow. The economic engine remains the same: the Six Nations and national-team events are the federation’s main sources of revenue.
But the credit, the executive admits, does not belong to the offices alone: “the players on the pitch have given rugby fans back the hope of competing with anyone”. That credit, he says, goes to Gonzalo Quesada, to the squad — and to those in the federation who saw further, earlier.
Why does Italy have more depth than before?
Because of the federal academies and training centres. Checchinato recalls that where an injury once opened a void, Italy now has unprecedented squad depth, with high-level replacements ready at 20-22 years of age. That heritage was built by federation investment that started long before today’s results.
The academies remain “open to criticism and improvement in every way”, he concedes. But the outcome is plain to see: according to Checchinato, around 70% of the national team is made up of players born and raised in small Italian clubs, brought through the federal pathway and already competitive on the highest stage.
The Menoncello case
The example he picks is Tommaso Menoncello: “above all credit to mum and dad, and to Tommaso first of all”, then to the small club where he started and the Benetton pathway that had him competing at the top level at twenty. And for those who frown at overseas recruits, Checchinato has a pragmatic answer: everyone does it — even the All Blacks have just fielded a German-born player.
The tour slap and the value of humility
Then there is the summer: July’s three defeats to Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Checchinato does not sugar-coat it: “a step backwards”, after a growth curve that had brought the Udine win over Australia and two victories in the latest Six Nations.
“I am convinced that sometimes you also need to take a slap.”
His reading, though, is far from catastrophic: difficulties “must be faced in order to learn”, rediscovering “the humility that has always accompanied us”, without throwing away foundations that remain sound. Perhaps, he admits, at times Italy thought it was “a little more than what we really are”: the slap is there to reset.
The closing note is equal parts executive and former player: it is a team effort in which everyone carries their stone — the commercial department, the men’s and women’s teams, the youth sides. “We are going in the right direction,” says Checchinato. The slap, if anything, is the price of growth.
Read also
- Ongaro on Italy’s scrum: “The credit is theirs”
- Checchinato and the 2000 jersey that changed Italian rugby
- New Zealand-Italy 47-17: a great first half is not enough
- Japan-Italy 27-10: what went wrong
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