Tide is turning for Zebre and Benetton Treviso

Benetton Treviso and Zebre's nightmare starts to the season, that followed the frustrating 2013/14 international run of nine consecutive losses amassed by Jacques Brunel's Italy, seem to finally be over. Something has changed and that is very good news moving towards the end of the year.

The two Italian teams lie at the bottom of the GUINNESS PRO12 standings with just one win in 14 matches played so far in the season - Zebre's outstanding triumph against Ulster in Parma - but their performances improved a lot in the last few weeks before the international break.

They ended the first seven weeks of the new campaign with 381 points against and just 163 scored, conceding 43 tries while scoring just 14, but things went well in the last couple of outings.

Zebre conceded only two tries to a full-strength Leinster team in Parma and then just one in the Parc y Scarlets defeat, while Treviso lost 9-6 at home against Connacht and 17-9 in Glasgow, with Niko Matawalu the only player to cross the line.

Indeed, Andrea Cavinato's troops battled bravely in their loss to the Scarlets on November 1 and that followed a convincing one-point loss against unbeaten leaders Ospreys at home and an impressive win at Top 14 side Brive in the second round of the Challenge Cup. It was the first-ever win in Europe for the young Italian franchise.

Treviso are still looking for the first win of the season but have radically changed their pace, distancing themselves from the humiliating start of newly-appointed coach Umberto Casellato.

They welcomed back some of the key players forced to rest due to injury and started showing glimpses of the exciting rugby their coach wants them to play.

Captain Antonio Pavanello and co performed a competent home display against Connacht and then went on to offer a far more convincing performance at Scotstoun.

So things look brighter for Italians in the GUINNESS PRO12 and, even if it is impossible to mark the start of the new campaign as satisfactory, there are a few promising signs for both Cavinato and Casellato to build on in the weeks to come.

Off the field, things are also moving fast and in the right direction for Italian rugby. The Italian Rugby Federation has finalised a key deal with free-to-air broadcaster Nuvolari to bring Azzurri fans GUINNESS PRO12 action for this season, solving the usual problem sports other than football are faced with every single off-season in Italy: TV coverage.

With the brand new Nuvolari partnership the Italian Union has granted its passionate followers not only weekly live coverage of Zebre and Benetton Treviso matches but also a precious window on the most entertaining league clashes, such as the Irish derby between reigning champions Leinster and powerhouse Munster.

This is a huge step in spreading the rugby word around a soccer-driven country, particularly important in the Rugby World Cup season. Italy was previously the only union seated at the Celtic Board table yet to bring a broadcaster into the GUINNESS PRO12 arena.

So if you can tell how something will go by how it begins, then Italian rugby can expect big things for the near future.

Enrico Borra

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