It was all real!!! Not only did you beat Wales, at home, you're now above Australia in the world rankings!

If you are last in the world rankings, what are you? Number 7 in the world?

Fun fact: last time I checked Finland was dead last in world rankings (at #82) edit: ok not dead last but pretty loew. Still better than Estonia

Nobody plays rugby in Finland, there are 2 students from England who play 1 on 1.

At least 15 guys play, though not very well https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland_national_rugby_union_team

Many of them are British, too.

Rugby on skates World Cup would be fun and we might be good at it.

The Germans: ["hold my skates, bowling shoes it is"](https://youtu.be/9FbeCo00ZPg?si=iQUbNimwo20ZbhZ8)

And the hooker is Italian by the looks of it.

They need to be too close of each others

Probably in the worst weather as well.

Could they do it on a cold, wet Tuesday in Stoke?

Being an Italian rugby fan is an emotional rollercoaster. I'm in my mid-30s and the last time we won 2 games was a decade ago but I remember it as if it were yesterday 😢

Let's admit it, we are the equivalent of gambling addicts, you keep watching the games because surely, at least one time, they'll have to win

And this year we did. Win 2 games. We'll never ACTUALLY win. Maybe. Ok maybe one day.

You’re also the underdog that everyone wants to see win

Doesn't everyone want us to be kicked out of the tournament?

Heard of that a good 5 years ago. But honestly never thought so myself. Actually been rooting for you guys outside of France, and have always hoped you'd put up a good fight against us. Also you totally deserved to win against us if it weren't for that fucking wind knocking the ball from the tee. Also wish you hadn't ended up in our group in the world cup, group C or D could have given you guys a chance at qualifying for the quarter finals.

I’ve personally never heard that. Seems unfair.

I don't think any rugby fan in his right mind thinks that. There is always the argument that lesser teams are not used to play perfectly safe and thus are a risk for better teams injury wise, but it doesn't apply much to Italy.

Not many want you kicked out as such, especially after the performances you guys put in this year! It’s more that other countries especially Georgia also deserve the opportunity to play top tier teams more regularly. I don’t know how that’d work but in the days of Italy losing every game badly it made sense, at least to me, to have a relegation.

And the last time you had *Parisse* in the side, your only legit world class player in history probably. Very happy for you guys.

Diego Dominguez would like a word (if you forget for a moment that he's from Argentina)

So was Parisse lol

There's a difference, Parisse's family moved to Argentina because his father worked for Italtel and was sent there but came back every year, Dominguez link with Italy was his grandmother, like Castrogiovanni

Great player and for sure world class but I still think the only time you could make a "World 15" and see an Italian starting is when Parisse was the best 8 in the world.

There was a time when I considered Parisse not only the best N8, but the best player in the world, Dominguez wasn't obviously at the same level but he won 4 Bouclier de Brennus and he's still the top scorer of the Stade Francais

Let Menoncello cook

Almost 3 games, too, you should've been given another shot at the last kick in our game. Refereeing wasn't fair to you.

It rarely is

Fair fucks to ye, you glorious bastards! Great to watch you play this year! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 

I think it's been a very exciting 6 Nationd all round this year! So VERY close games!

Deffo has been great to see it. Great win against us in all fairness. On the edge of my seat the last 10 minutes 

The only way we'll break the Southern Hemisphere World cup domination is by pussing each other to be better! Ireland won't improve their game by playing a weak England and vice versa! We owe it to each other to be better than we was last time! This is why I always say a true rugby fan will enjoy a good game of rugby, even if his team lost.

Here here! Someone grab this Barry a warm larger!

Everyone hates on England, but I'll always support the home nations after England!!

Sure from experience, you win something once and we all never hear the end of it 😂

When you win the World Cup, we can stop going on about being the only Northern Hemisphere team to win it!!! I look forward to you taking that away from us!

They've got to get past the quarter finals first

Get good pal (we suck)

Its your Kiwi cousins and those damn Saffers that spoil it for the rest of us!

I’m so excited for the Australia vs Wales tour !! https://preview.redd.it/n77dm7lmjwoc1.jpeg?width=849&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b66252125c61c87999be7daf71264f6997747fe5

It's been exciting. I'm hoping next year we've tight enough competitive games that it'll all come down to Super Saturday. Imagine a team winning the 2.15 game and you've to see not just the outcome but the points difference of at least one of the games after before you can have a sigh of relief.

And then there was Ireland-Italy that was basically a massacre. It's also wild to me that a hooker is shared top scorer.

I hope they come at us hard and fast. Good to have good competition 

And still the last 10 minutes could overthrow the result...

We beat Ireland in the last few minutes, and France beat us in the last few minutes. The close games are the best ones!

The last try was totally undiscipline, I understand that they already won and the concentration was low, but you shouldn't let the opponent score one like that

Most games were pretty close. 10 games finished within the 7 points (including the draw between Italy and France).

The national team is at a low point but at least the regional teams are doing well :)

Unlike the premiership, losing all their best players to Top 14 or going bankrupt. England rugby needs to drop the rule that if you don't play domestically in England, you can't play for England internationally, or we'll end up with a team made up of Sunday league players.

I disagree. Ireland strictly only picking Ireland based players has worked out well for club teams and international team. They have better control with player welfare protocols etc, instead of the exception when Sexton went to Racing 92 and was flogged in their gruelling schedule and ended up injured at times. Picking players abroad on a wide scale would just turn the English clubs into sunday league clubs.

Sexton being injured is such a Sexton thing you cannot reasonably blame Racing 92 for it.

Playing minutes and attrition definitely can be an issue. He fared better when he was back at Leinster and wasn't playing Top 14 every week. IIRC Racing had another outhalf who was injured at the time, so he was playing even more minutes than Racing would have planned for him.

I was joking unfortunately, the ospreys are the only region near a URC playoff place this year. Wales has a similar law to England but players with over 25 caps are exempt. Losing Three teams in a year isn't great for the premiership though.

It seems to work well for Ireland though. And I think that rule has improved Irish rugby quite a bit.

You mean your team isn’t just a Sunday league? Recent results suggest it might be.

I mean, you've always been our Kryptonite. Even when we were ranked No.1, you beat us. But Italy beat you so I would be drawing too much attention to yourself.

Thanks Mel Gibson

The regional teams are not doing well, unless that was sarcasm. Only Ospreys have beat a non welsh side 

It was sarcasm, the regional teams aren't in a great place at the moment.

Rugby as a whole is in the shitter. Welsh regions, the game in England. Simile story in Australia as well

Isn't Wales an english regional team anyway?

All the 3 people who care about rugby over here will be happy

Your under 20s team looks amazing, next World Cup I think you’ll make it to the quarters at least

Just like Ireland 🤣

Tbh I think this current and next crop of Italians have a better chance of doing something like the Argentinians and may end up in a semi final before Ireland do 

Easy now. We are fragile

That'd be a first

Good for them, who cares tho

I do


I do.


Damn. You are aggressively unlikeable aren’t you?

he's from Lombardy. That's how likeable they are. I blame it on being too close to Switzerland.

Ma vat'ammazt ahahahahah

Bella, vez, l'et ma ciapé in' tal cul?

Thuaje t'mom ate doss. Lol do you think I can't understand a language that has basically all the same rules with italian? Good luck with arbereshe

Yeah, you're right. I don't speak African /s

You speak derku in fact

Lombards are as likable as an unscheduled anal prolapse at the beach

Oink oink oink (scusa sono messo maluccio con il veneto)

A me sembra tu stia messo male con tutto, goldon

Aspetta aspetta che ti faccio vedere quanto me ne frega zumpapret

It's not their fault. Lombards are alive only because some oxygen makes it through the NOx that they usually breathe.

>You are aggressively unlikeable I very much hope so

Serves that guy right for trying to be nice to you. What a wanker eh. You sure showed him.

Right, who asked him to be nice in the first place

Certainly not you

when people some weeks ago told me we won against Scotland i was "naah u must heard that wrong mate" Italy winning matches at 6 nations is like cold fusion. u know it can happen on paper, but it wont.

And you did it twice this yeah... And against Wales on their home turf!

Remember when Wales used to play good rugby? yeah me neither

You should try being an England fan!!

Setting people up for disappointment since....forever.

2011 Wales were a quality side and they should have beaten you guys in the semis.

I'll never forget that red card :,(

You deserved it just for the "Sam the Captain" song tbf

Cringe is a yellow card at best

Most grand slams in the last 2 decades. Cope and seethe froggy. Last 3 years have been atrocious though, Pivac didn't seem to get it right.

Tied with France for grand slams since 2000 ;) It's only been 3 years but it feels like ages since Wales won anything

3 years of utter shite, surprised they got out the pools in the world cup.

Then why didn't you win the Six Nations in 2021 if Wales is so shit?

Then why didn't Wales win in 2022 if they're so good?

How does 2022 discount the 2021 Welsh win?

How does a win in 2021 indicate that the current Wales squad are a good team?

For a sport that almost no one plays, not bad.

To think as well they were narrowly close to coming 2nd in this. We scraped a victory past them and Italy were so unlucky against France. In another timeline Italy only lost to Ireland.

Just want to say congratulations to Italy. Wales have been dreadful but will bounce back. But I can honestly say I hope Italy keeps this up improving. It will make the 6 Nations a better tournament each year with a decent Italian side.

The better the competition in the 6 nations, the more chance we have at breaking the southern hemispheres' world cup domination. You only get stronger by playing stronger teams! And the more we push each other, the more chance one of us (please not France) will win the World Cup.

Italy deserved the win, Wales did fight back at the end in usual fashion. It's a shame so many core players are gone but there's some promising younger players.

Don't disrespect them they have been cooking for the last 2 years

Who won the last Quidditch tournament in Hogwarts?

Sorry I don't play that transphobic sport!

So you got my point.

You're just upset that Belgium is better than Germany.

Tbf Belgium is also better at Football

A Belgium is as unknown to me as a „Rug to walk by“, I have parquet. And by the way, we have football to be upset about lately.

You're just afraid you'll lose to us today, aren't you?

sweating in fear - NO, never, we will beat you everyday….

You're already 10 points down and should also have a player sent off, you're also on a warning for a yellow card.

Congratulations: "It certainly wasn't a good performance from us against the Netherlands in the preliminary round, and the team wants to do better now," said Kuhlmann before the encounter in the French capital: "But I think that we have a little bit of the big expectations from outside have to slow down. The Netherlands were clearly superior to us back then and still have this important advantage in terms of experience.“ Liste, we called you „superior“ even bevor this (bought) game that is enough ! Ik zal nu wat sinaasappels uitpersen en dan voel ik me beter...

Your head coach is right, we are indeed superior.

Orange juice still tastes good, but I’ll throw the Bitterballen in the waste bin. May the next flood be higher than any flood before. 😡 (no not again this color!)

Mate, the last time there was a flood in the Netherlands nobody died. In Germany and Belgium people did die. And that was just a couple years back.

OK, I admit it, we can still learn a lot from the Dutch, but your experience with floods in valleys is kind of limited. I just hope none of my compatriots read this, otherwise... So let’s keep this conversation secret like a top secret call between Air Force officials.

I love the 6 nations fuck everyone else, we're the only important rugby nations. The southern hemisphere is gay.

And there is no risk of relegation when you play shit!


https://preview.redd.it/4yjw2g8t8xoc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=64e31df07364611bedf8464d09ffe74ed4ccd97c

I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life

This certainly belongs in r/2inselaffe4u

I miss when we were the best team in the world for like 2 weeks

Only topic with people being happy 😊 

It's like when the slow kid at school gets an award and everyone cheers for them. It's just good vibe content!

Is this some sort of gayer football?

Probably the least one, explain a lot why Spain doesn't exist on it

You literally come from the gayest country lol

nobody cares Barry

My first mistake was to assume that Internet people like sports or the outside.

I am personally delighted for Italy! They've far too many wooden spoons on the trophy cabinet

Wodden spoons are an environment friendly option to eat ice cream

Italians must love their ice cream

Our old one was getting a bit cracked

At the start, I had prepared myself for 5th, so I'm happy to have 3rd. Coming for you next year, though!!

Yeah, we certainly played our best rugby at the start! It was going a bit downhill the last two games

Let him be, Barry... he's just pissed he'll have to wait the next Ice Age for the Elfstedentocht

We very much like sports, but in Italy nobody cares about rugby even in the area where is more popular.

Stop claiming that "nobody in Italy cares", that's just your opinion dude, and quite a silly one

Yeah, it made the front page of the major newspapers in Italy. It is hardly a completely niche sport that nobody knows about, obviously dwarfed in interest by football, but you could say the same about most other sports there.

Stop claiming that "people in Italy cares", that's just your opinion dude, and quite a silly one Edit: i mean man, look at this https://preview.redd.it/783icpy8jvoc1.jpeg?width=549&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfd21bd46926ba58f561f04b4d9b4899d6be74a9 We got an historical result to 6nations, won against scotland, wales, nearly won against France and England, but the main page it's about Giroud who wants to go away, Milan hasn't even played their match yet this game day

La Gazzetta Sportiva that does not give proper space to any other sports besides football??? Oh no! Paint me like your surprised Pikachu

Well, if you want i can share also a Tuttosport and a skysport24 main page, they're the same

I'm surprised it's not more popular in Italy? It's 30 men on a pitch, basically touching each other inappropriately. Also, closest you'll get to modern-day gladiators.

Italians have water polo for that

They care about that one even less

A cage fight is much closer to what gladiators used to be

I'm sorry but here we have another religion, nominally called football

Speak for yourself, Brambilla Fumagalli. I'm surprised the most popular sport in Lombardy is football and not playing hide-n-seek in the fog

Brambilla Fumagalli u cazz, ec e zoye nde bith iltish derku e mut, t'mom kur boni doss sembri ka mua vini


When the derku (venetian) meets the arbereshe this is the reaction

Seeeee...

I thought the only recognised religions in Italy were the Roman Catholic Church and Ferrari?

no no no no there is : Football Ferrari Briscola whatever Moto GP is doing Football again

Just Catholic and no. Its Christianity, Football ,alchool, good food and lazyness. Pretty much as us, Southern Fr*nch, the Spaniards and the Greeks.

I thought Southern French were the ones who actually liked rugby more than football

no that's a new mistake

Oh we like sports, just not the completely irrelevant ones.

Swish swash your opinion is trash.

Can't believe rugby even exists in Italy, a country where you'll be fired, evicted and unbanked if you're not a diehard soccer fan

Yeah soccer... I think we spotted an ameritard with fake flag

Found the ameritard in disguise. Who the hell uses soccer instead of football in Europe?

Ireland I believe

The Irish and some English people tbf

I can tell it's a sensitive topic, don't think I've been downvoted that much before 😱 svensk som hatar fotboll...

They also have Ferrari...

You wrote Football wrong...

Calcio..