Argument for Eight Nations will grow if rugby gospel wants to be spread

A pparently it took Michelangelo a little over four years to paint the 343 figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. He was in his mid-30s at the time and not entirely sure he was the right man for the job, given he was primarily a sculptor. “Every gesture I make is blind and aimless,” he lamented in a poem published in 1509. “I am not in the right place – I am not a painter.”

All the best transformations rely on a similar holy trinity of time, patience and, crucially, persistence. Which is why Italy’s vibrant performance against France at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday made for such absorbing viewing. Yes, they should have kept calmer towards the end of their 29-24 loss. Yes, they gave the French too much of a head start. But it was their ability to give it a real go that really stood out. Making up the numbers? Not any more.

It was a refreshing contest in other ways as well. For years there have been questions about Italy’s place in the Six Nations, which they joined in 2000. How wearing it must have been to endure all those barren years of routine disappointment. How difficult to blood new players when the more experienced heads guiding them are mostly accustomed to defeat.

So let us not minimise the effort involved in dragging the Azzurri up off the piazza floor and encouraging all concerned to embrace a higher vision. They have beaten Wales in Cardiff last March and Australia in Florence in November. Last Friday, Italy’s Under-20 team outscored France Under-20s by five tries to two in Treviso, only to miss four conversions and go down 28-27. Last year, they beat England’s Under-20s and secured three wins in their five matches. There is youthful talent that should shortly make the national squad even