25 years on from England Rugby's first match in Italy
England face Italy on Sunday 9 March at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham in what will be the 26th Six Nations encounter between the two sides.
This year marks a quarter of a century of Italy’s involvement in the Six Nations. The Azzurri haven’t always enjoyed success on the pitch, but the passion of the players and their fans has never been in doubt.
At no time was this more evident than when England visited Italy and the Stadio Flaminio for the first time in 2000. Unbeaten in that first Six Nations, Clive Woodward’s side headed to Rome confident but wary of a side that had already defeated reigning champions Scotland.
Among the starting 15 were a host of future World Cup winners, including scrum half Matt Dawson, wing Ben Cohen and flanker Neil Back.
Cohen was in his debut season for England and scored twice in the game, but it was more than just the rugby that proved memorable.
“When you play in France and Italy, you have a police escort and they're always crazy experiences,” he said. “It’s like parting the Red Sea.
“It's quite an adventure getting to the hotel and ground, but Stadio Flaminio is my favourite stadium in rugby. It’s such a lovely ground; the backdrop, the atmosphere, I loved it.”
Italy now play at the Stadio Olimpico, but Cohen’s love for their former home endures, not least because he won his 50th cap there.
“It was just a quaint stadium, you didn’t feel lost in it. When you came up from under the pitch you could see the apartments and a hillside, and you’d get the sun setting and a golden hour.
“It was a different type of crowd too. When you play abroad it varies from hostility to liveliness in crowds. The Italians were happy to be part of something, give it their all and support their own in a positive manner.
“With it being a small stadium you’re close to the fans and it’s quite intimate, you feel part of it.”
Captain for the tournament, Dawson recalled the joy of the Azzurri faithful, particularly when they took the lead after eight minutes through Luca Martin’s converted try.
“The atmosphere was unique,” explained Dawson. “The Italians have such a passion for international sport. It's like a constant wave of noise, particularly in that first 20 minutes.
“For other nations of course it’s about their own country scoring a try, but you feel it’s against you, ‘England, have some of that’.
“Even though you were under pressure, in Italy the noise wasn’t as oppressive because they were absolutely cheering Italy on and so pleased to celebrate a try.”
England eventually began to pull away from their opponents, with Dawson scoring two tries, despite dislocating his shoulder trying to stop Martin.
One of the side’s mantras was to build scoreboard pressure at every opportunity, so when England found themselves in the Italian 22, leading 7-13 after half an hour, Back took it upon himself to keep the pressure on by becoming the only England forward to score a drop goal. Although, after dropping the goal, he was desperate for the game to restart.
“I just ran back nonchalantly, I just wanted to the game to start so I could move on, and no one would give any banter.
“After the game one Italian official took umbrage because he thought, as a flanker, I was taking the mick, but he took it the wrong way because it was actually respect. We respected every team we played.”
England went on to win the game 12-59, courtesy of an Austin Healy hat-trick, a penalty try and doubles from Dawson and Cohen, while Jonny Wilkinson added 14 points that were topped up by Alex King's conversion and of course, Back's drop goal.
Despite ultimately losing, Italy had given a good showing and the post-match function lived up to the occasion, with the Italian Rugby Federation pulling out all the stops for their visitors.
Dawson said: “It was off the charts, this beautiful manor house up in the hills looking over Rome. It was proper bells and whistles with these great trays of food and all the lads in their blazers having a couple of drinks.
“Because the game had gone professional, a lot of those things were starting to wind down a bit, whereas this was the whole shooting match.
“I seem to remember meeting up in a couple of bars with Alessandro Troncon, Andrea Lo Cicero and Mauro Bergamasco, those boys were great at organizing venues you could then go to. It was a fantastic weekend and I'm not sure it was ever quite the same because they delivered such a high standard in 2000.”
Italy may be yet to beat England, but their passion and love for the game has made them a more-than-welcome addition to the tournament for both players and spectators.
“It's a great place to go, it ticks all the boxes,” added Back. “There's nice food, you can sit and have a coffee or a drink and it's a good opportunity for a family group to go and experience a game.
“It's also normally around Valentine's Day and I've met so many fans that have persuaded their partners to go to Rome on the same weekend as the game.”
While this year's game is taking place at Allianz Stadium, experiences in the Eternal City will live long in the memory of Dawson, Cohen and Back, as well as many an England Rugby fan who has made the journey.
