Trying to make its mark

When in Rome and all that. So, when in Bologna, it seemed only right and proper to sample the local spaghetti - this being a renowned gastronomical city, even by Italian standards. In its way though, the little cafe which the media pack was brought to on Thursday evening may have said a lot about rugby's place in the local mindset.

Encased in glass was an Azzurri football shirt, while alongside were a variety of basketball shirts, the `basket' mad Bolognese being home to two clubs in the European league. Of course, the Serie A team generally has the Bolognese's first affections and with Imola 30 miles away (where the Italian rugby team were having a closed session), like all Italian cities, it is apparent that rugby comes well down the pecking order.

Amongst the profusion of designer clothes shops, Formula One and football merchandise decorates the windows of many of the expensive shopswhich line the streets of this typically-affluent and stylish northern city. The orange terracotta everywhere gives Bologna a warm glow, even in the persistent rain. But because Bologna is the most porticoed city in the world, you could stroll for hours amongst the well-heeled beautiful people without getting wet. Bring your favourites shoes and at least one of your most fashionable outfits, says the brochure.

The Rome-based journalists I spoke to would like rugby internationals to come to Bologna more regularly, given this university city's friendliness, easy-going nature, vibrant night life and rich traditions - sports included.

Although Bologna is home to the second oldest club in Italy, founded in 1928, it remained a relatively-untapped home for rugby internationals until 1986 when 40,000 unexpectedly turned up for a game between Italy and an English XV on a warm spring evening.

Even then, it wasn't until two years ago that the Stadio Dall'Ara played host to a full international, when 28,000 saw the All Blacks beat Italy by 70-6. The only other international here was last month, when about 22,000 witnessed South Africa beat Italy by 62-31.

The attendance for today's game is greatly dependant upon the weather, hardly surprising really given the bowl-shaped Stadio Dall'Ara is only partially covered on one side (press box side, thankfully). On the opposing stand, perches one of the city's main orange-hued towers, a fitting monument to a well-preserved stadium built in the 1930s which blends in with the Bolognese style.

While a win would strengthen Italy's case for inclusion in the Five Nations when the Five Nations Committee next discusses the topic at its meeting of January 16th, another half-empty stadium would counter against it.

Yet it's a bit of a Catch 22 because Italian followers of all sports, like so many continentals, struggle with the concept of friendlies, even if `test' friendlies. "What's the tournament?" they ask, more than reasonably.

Another Catch 22 is that the biggest problem facing Italian rugby is a lack of money, and the best means of rectifying that is inclusion in the Five Nations. The Italian Federation argue that sponsorship, television and media coverage, and full houses would only come with that. And with the ensuing monies, they could plough more money into their clubs and domestic structures.

Though, relatively speaking, rugby is an even poorer sporting relation in the eyes of the Italian media (I remember Milan's win over Leinster in the European Cup was confined to a few column inches near the back of the Corriere del Sport) and public, Italy's base is not a long way off Ireland's.

There are about 30,000 playing the game - from under-eights up - in the 400-plus clubs. Their first division is confined to a dozen clubs, divided first into two groups of six (each playing 10 matches) and then subdivided into championship and relegation groups of six (playing another 10 matches) before a top-four play-off. Attendances are not far behind than those in the AIL first division. Milan and Treviso's record of three wins out of 12 in the European Cup compares favourably with the Irish provinces' record of five wins out of 18.

However, there is a fear amongst the Five Nations that this Italian team, though probably a match for Wales, Scotland and Ireland, is growing old together. The Italian coach Georges Coste - something of a chunkier cross between Pat Whelan and Joe Pesci - accepts the need for younger players to emerge but "is confident that we will have another 15 younger players" coming through the ranks to join the existing nucleus of 30 or so.

Injuries to three front-line players have enabled Coste to bring in some of these up-and-coming players; such as 25-year-old tight-head Andrea Castellani, 21-year-old centre Manuel Dallan and 23-year-old debutant full-back Corrado Pilat.

Much was made of the apparently promising, but relatively unknown Pilat at yesterday's press conference. He had been selected by Coste four times before, but withdrew injured every time. A former Bologna player for three years before moving to Treviso, Coste said of Pilat: "He could really become one of the great future players of Italy."

With inclusion in the Five Nations, more Pilats would be attracted to the game and be brought on. Their captain, Massimo Giovanelli, is clearly tiring of this whole issue. On the eve of another test case for Italian rugby, he sighed: "I hope that the day when we have to face this type of exam can be finished. Italy has demonstrated its credentials and I believe the decision has already been made (to include them in the Five Nations)," he concluded, rightly or wrongly.

Though Italy seem more settled - seven of this team even played against Ireland two-and-a-half years ago in Treviso - they have a new midfield and full-back combination. Coste, like so many Italian and French coaches, has a way of romanticising and spiritualising the game, even through an interpreter, and believes that "this is the most opportune time for the team to express itself at the highest level.

"We have a well-proven team in the forwards, but we have a team to still discover in the back line. Discovery is a part of the game of rugby. It is both 80 minutes of discovery and 80 minutes of certainty."

The certainty, presumably, being the discovery.