A bit of Nessun Dorma never goes down badly, does it, and after the Italy U20s defeated France in the men’s U20s Six Nations for the first time ever, you fully understand why they’d be singing.

After a 23-20 victory for the Italians, 19-year-old prop Davide Ascari let rip in the changing room, to the delight of team-mates.

Fellow prop Marcos Gallorini was named player of the match and said: “It’s always tough against them, they are heavy and fearsome, but we had studied them well and knew exactly what to do and I think this was the key to the match.

“We applied to letter our plan and all this makes us understand how important tactics are even in a phase of the game that seems a bit barbaric like the melee, which instead is a beautiful aspect. We had fifteen thousand French fans against us and we got excited about each other the other, knowing that it was just us and we demonstrated that ours is a group that knows how to resist everything and is certainly not to be taken for granted in similar situations.”

“The sensations I have at the moment are indescribable,” said Italy U20s coach Massimo Brunello.

He went on: “The boys were exceptional, fantastic, they never gave up even when we went behind in the second half. I want to applaud the staff who, even if with some interchangeable elements, have been working in this category for years and have managed to create an incredible harmony that allows us to get the most out of our athletes. Every year important victories have come for our movement: England, South Africa, now France. Ours is a small movement, but by believing in Italian passion we can get some great satisfaction.”

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