Craig Green was a member of the New Zealand squad who won the first Rugby World Cup on home soil in 1987, but is now head coach of the Italian Under 20 squad preparing to fly to South Africa for the IRB Junior World Championship next month.
Green’s relationship with Italy is not a novelty, the New Zealand wing landed in Italy shortly after lifting the Webb Ellis Cup and carried on adding to his list of rugby achievements and contributions.
“I have been in Italy on and off since 1987. I played in Italy for seven years, four at Benetton Treviso with whom I won a championship and was runner up three times before ending my playing career and starting as a coach in Casale sul Sile,” explained Green.Well-respected and renowned in the Italian rugby community as ‘Toni’ Green, to overcome pronunciation barriers, the former All Black has settled into life in the country, admitting “my wife is Italian and both our girls were born in Italy and I have spent more time in Italy since winning the World Cup than New Zealand!”
As a coach Green has won four Italian Championships and has been involved with the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) since 2010, taking over the Under 20s after they finished 11th on home soil in last year’s Junior World Championship.
His influence was clear to see in the Six Nations earlier this year when the Azzurrini proved they are capable of producing some good performances, but the lack of consistency and bit of bad luck still left them at the bottom of table.
They pushed Wales hard and losing to Scotland in the dying minutes of their final match left the young Italians with the dreaded wooden spoon, but Green maintained a positive attitude throughout the Championship and was pleased by what he was seeing.
Learning curve
“I think we performed well, we made mistakes but we’ll learn from them,” explained Green, who scored 11 tries in his 20 Tests for the All Blacks between 1983 and 1987.“Having over half of the team made up by Under 19s makes a big difference and the lack of experience shows on the field, especially at the level this age group is at in Europe and the speed at which it’s developing, with more of the players appearing in the top leagues.
“The quality and speed of the game at this level is impressive and is always attracting more crowds. We managed to get the people in Italy excited about the games and the support we got was amazing and unexpected.”
The fact that a number of former Under 20 players shone for Italy in the Six Nations is also an important element for Green, proving there is a pathway to follow the likes of Tommaso Benvenuti and Giovanbattista Venditti to the Test stage.
Benvenuti and Venditti were Italy’s only try scorers in the Championship other than captain Sergio Parisse, Venditti’s second Test try against Scotland proving crucial as the Azzurri avoided the wooden spoon.
“Generally speaking Italian players, especially the young ones, always feel that other teams are better than them, and to see their opposition on TV playing for top clubs just adds to that impression.
“We need the young players to step up and prove things differently in order to move on.”
Countdown
With less than a month to go until JWC 2012, Italy are heading into their final phase of preparation with two training camps taking place before in May before the squad travel to South Africa determined to realise their goal.“Our expectations are to stay in the elite group,” admitted Green, who will settle for a repeat of 2011 when Italy finished 11th after beating Tonga in the relegation play-off to avoid an immediate return to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy.
“It is fundamental for the development of our players and the only way for them to keep improving and to be ready, one day, to play in Italian national side.”
Green knows there are still things for the Azzurrii to work on before they travel to Cape Town.
“We need to score tries to remain in the elite group, playing well won’t be enough. We must improve our tackling and we’ll concentrate mainly on the contact zone.”
Italy have a difficult task awaiting them, beginning their campaign against 2011 runners up England at the University of Western Cape Stadium on 4 June before tackling hosts South Africa four days later and Ireland on 12 June.
“We certainly expect the first games to be very hard, with all three teams wanting to end at the top of the group. We just have to do our best, and then who knows.”
