PAUL REES LOOKS FORWARD TO THE WORLD RUGBY AWARDS WHICH ARE ANNOUNCED IN MONTE CARLO TONIGHT

SELDOM has a missed conversion been greeted with unbridled joy. As debutant Ben Donaldson’s kick drifted wide of the right-hand upright, Italy’s players celebrated their first victory over Australia last weekend, their penultimate match in a year which has seen them emerge from a long tunnel of darkness.
The success against the Wallabies followed their first victory in Cardiff over Wales to end a seven-year losing streak in the Six Nations. The curve has not been steadily upward – they lost i...