RUGBY MATTERS

BRENDAN GALLAGHER
A weekly look at the game’s other talking points
IT’s difficult to think of any nation that has made less impact on the Rugby World Cup over the decades than Italy, but I wonder, despite the draw from hell, if that might not change in Japan. It’s high time they started punching above their weight.
Italy have been ever present at the RWC since 1987, not that you would really know. Once considered on a par with Argentina, the Italians can only look on with envy as the Pumas marched into two semifinals in 2007 and 2015 with another couple of ...