CHRIS HEWETT
GUEST COLUMNIST

Auckland and Rome are rugby poles apart: the Arctic and Antarctic of the Union game, its top and bottom, its alpha and omega. The All Blacks haven’t lost any of their 46 Tests at Eden Park stretching back almost 30 years – flabbergasting, considering the quality of opposition they’ve faced there – while the Azzurri haven’t won at Stadio Olimpico since the Caesars.
The true strongholds of the sport have traditionally been found in New Zealand and South Africa, with the Australians boasting an imposing citadel or two during...