The men’s 2024 Six Nations is now well and truly behind us, but the memories of the tournament will remain strong for many years to come. This year was known for its upsets, controversial refereeing decisions, and exceptionally exciting matches.
Post World Cup championships are generally as unpredictable as they come. Teams often welcome a whole host of new players into the fold as they shed the old skin that formed their previous four year cycle.
The likes of Dan Biggar, Jonny Sexton and Owen Farrell are gone – instead a whole host of young hopefuls attempted to play their way into more permanent international reckonings.
These changes created brand new storylines with entirely open possibilities moving forward:
- At one stage it looked like Scotland were going to challenge for the title.
- England beating Ireland opened up conversation of the return of the men in white to their former glory.
- Wales, having gathered the wooden spoon, found themselves on the end of a taunting by Georgia Rugby.
The storyline that fascinated most, however, was one that had been building very slowly over the past 4/5 years. An Italian revival.
CARDIFF, WALES – MARCH 16: Italy’s Niccolo Cannoni, Lorenzo Cannone and Danilo Fischetti of Italy in full voice during the national anthem ahead of the Guinness Six Nations 2024 match between Wales and Italy at Principality Stadium on March 16, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Winning two games and drawing one, yet somehow finishing fifth felt like a kick in the teeth for a much improved Italian side. But what they failed to gain in the table, they won in fans.
Such was their performance in the competition, beating Wales, Scotland, and coming so close to beating France…and even England, their status on the tournament has been well and truly reinforced.
Despite winning no team accolades, Lorenzo Pani has been nominated for the Try of the Tournament with an ultimate team effort.
Check it out here:
𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙔 𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙇𝙀 of Lorenzo Pani’s try against Wales, which has been nominated for Try of the Championship! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QtLuqXPo5a
— Guinness Men’s Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) March 27, 2024
Speaking after defeating Wales, victorious captain Michele Lamaro said:
“The mindset that we now take onto the pitch is something we’ve never had before,
“We’ve gained confidence and worked so hard for each other. We’ve been through lots of difficult moments and now we can celebrate the good ones.
“Two years ago was a wonderful feeling but this year is different. Now it’s not just about avoiding a Wooden Spoon, we know we can still do better.
“I’ve heard a thousand times that Italy has a bright future and I’m sick of it. We want to live for the moment and want to be competitive now… we want to win now.”
Exciting times for Italy.
Sign In