Italy U20 at the World Championship: how good are they really?

There’s a question that travels with Italy Under-20s on the way to Georgia, the same one carried by anyone who has followed these lads: how good is this generation really? Two wins in the build-up have raised expectations. But it’s from now on that it gets serious.

To understand it, it’s worth rewinding to the age-grade Six Nations. It had started uphill — the game in the Treviso cold against Scotland left more doubts than certainties — and ended in a completely different way, all the way to the win that gave them confidence. A team that, tournament after tournament, found an identity: and in that change of gear you see the work of head coach Andrea Di Giandomenico.

Two tests, two answers

The build-up numbers speak clearly: 55-27 over Spain in Gubbio, 24-19 over England in Calvisano, the last exam before boarding. Two matches at opposite ends — one with ease, the other on grit — won in two different ways. We covered them in detail separately.

When Italy U20 play

The tournament — the World Rugby U20 Championship, for the first time with 16 teams — is held in Georgia from 27 June to 18 July. Italy are in Pool C with Scotland, Japan and New Zealand, and play their entire pool stage at the AIA Arena in Kutaisi:

• Sat 27 June, 11:00 — Italy v Scotland
• Thu 2 July, 18:30 — Italy v Japan
• Tue 7 July, 11:00 — New Zealand v Italy

Whoever wins the pool flies to the semi-finals; the final is in Tbilisi. And the match that shapes everything is the first, no beating about the bush:

Against Scotland it’s there to be played for, against Japan it’s there to be played for. And then we’ll see.

A generation not to pigeonhole

The risk, with youth sides, is always the same: passing judgement at first glance. It’s worth resisting. This Under-20 side isn’t a straight line, and perhaps that’s exactly where it gets interesting: the measure won’t only be how far it goes, but how much it will have grown along the way. Not a story already written, then, but a team to follow — because in here there’s already a piece of the future of Italian rugby.

Read also:

• Test pre-Mondiale: 55-27 alla Spagna e 24-19 all’Inghilterra
• I protagonisti da seguire: Luisato e Ragusi le rivelazioni

Seguiremo il Mondiale U20 con le live sul canale: iscriviti a DanPat Rugby su YouTube e dicci nei commenti quanto pensi valga questa generazione.

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