“We’re not going there to keep the score down, that’s for sure,” Crowley tells the Herald in France this week.
“We’ll be giving it a real crack. And by giving it a crack, we might expose ourselves in certain areas. I’m not going to sit there after the game and say, ‘We should have’. I would rather say, ‘We did’.”
In most of their wide-margin defeats to the All Blacks - certainly those in the professional era - Italy largely adopted negative, kick-heavy tactics in a bid to mitigate the damage. They were defeatist from the outset.
Crowley’s arrival two years ago altered that approach by overhauling Italy’s conservative mindset to create a vastly different identity.
After five successful years with Benetton Treviso, where he led the Italian club side to their maiden Pro14 playoffs and a Rainbow Cup title, Crowley’s first test in charge was scheduled for the All Blacks in New Zealand in mid 2021.
With that tour cancelled due to lingering Covid complications, Crowley instead held a camp to outline some home truths to the Italians.
“We had a good talk about things and decided we needed to get some respect and credibility back into Italian rugby,” Crowley recalls. “That wasn’t for us to say - it had to be for outside people. We decided if they kept doing what they’d been doing, you’d get the same results. We changed the style of play; we changed the mindset.
“We want to play with some courage and have a crack. It’s cost us in some games, but as coaches, I want us to keep trying it because if you back yourself, sometimes it works. We need to keep working at our accuracy. It’s been an enjoyable ride.”
From horror streak to Six Nations stunner
Crowley assumed charge with Italy at a low ebb, riding a 36-test losing run in the Six Nations. With each defeat, the clamour of criticism grew.
“People were calling for their expulsion from the Six Nations. We were getting hidings.”
Italy broke their horror streak by stunning Wales in Cardiff last year. They proved that was no fluke, too, with their first win against the Wallabies last November, and they then put 49 points on Samoa the following week.
Through innovation and an enterprising style based on using the middle of the field with a 2-4-2 pod system, having players in motion and keeping the ball alive, which is complemented by strong loose forwards Lorenzo Cannone and Michele Lamaro, Italy pushed Ireland and France, the latter to the brink, in this year’s Six Nations.
“Peoples’ mood or perceptions are usually shaped by the result, but [in] a couple of those losses, we played really well and didn’t quite get over the line. One of the highlights is how these players have developed from a skill and mindset perspective.
“You ask these players to run through a brick wall and they’ll do it for you. They want to get better. They just haven’t been exposed to a lot of overseas or street-smart techniques.”
Crowley has spent the last 14 years coaching abroad - moving to Italy after leading the Canadian national team for seven years. His Taranaki (Kaponga) roots remain prevalent, though. He did, after all, play 19 tests (35 matches) for the All Blacks from 1983-1991.
Taranaki head coach Neil Barnes helped Italy’s forwards during the Six Nations and, back home, Crowley’s brother and the Barrett clan share neighbouring farms.
“They see the Barretts all the time. We’ve seen them. I know them to say g’day. When you’re coaching international teams, you know most teams and coaching staff.”
Out to end All Blacks’ hopes
Despite those close New Zealand ties, this is business time for Crowley. That means attempting to derail the All Blacks’ World Cup campaign.
“You’re in the team you’re in. From a coaching or professional perspective, it’s just another game. There’ll be no emotional ties as you go into it.”
Ian Foster’s All Blacks have endured a wild four-year cycle, from multiple historic lows to assistant coaching changes, a rebuild, two losses from their last three tests to leave them ranked fourth in the world and traversing treacherous, uncharted World Cup territory. That rollercoaster now confronts Italy - a nation in the dwindling bracket of tier-one teams yet to defeat the All Blacks.
“They’re still one of the best in the world. Rugby now is getting a lot closer, with coaches and players going all over the world. Everyone is exposed to the same sort of trainings, nutrition, GPS, whatever it might be. Romania and Namibia have had a couple of hidings at this World Cup, but [in] most of the other games, you get to halftime and it’s really close with the tier-two countries.
“As far as New Zealand is concerned, they always come through. They’ve just come off the Rugby Championship, where they played bloody well. They won’t be happy with their game against France, but you’d put that down to a bad day. They’ve got world-class players, so they’ll bounce back.”
Crowley appreciates the task at hand. He knows four straight wins over Romania, Japan, Namibia and Uruguay don’t compare to the All Blacks. He cites Italy’s 0-16 record against the All Blacks, and their average 51-point losing margin.
“That tells you the gulf between the two teams. We know we’re up for one hell of a challenge, but we’re going to play and see what happens.”
Crowley speaks from experience, too, after Italy’s last 47-9 loss to the All Blacks in his first season at the helm. After upsetting Wales and Australia since, though, this time the Azzurri dare to dream.
“If we have an exceptional day and they have one or two things go against them, you never know. It’s knockout rugby now for both of us. You get that pressure on and it changes things a little bit. You’ve got the influence cards and TMOs ... so you never know. You go in there with the confidence that you’re going to give it your best shot.
“All the top teams - New Zealand, France, Ireland, South Africa - they don’t have any weaknesses. It comes down to the contact area and not making mistakes under pressure. We’ll target a couple of areas, but it’s not as if it’s going to be a weakness for them.”
Italians by nature are passionate, emotional characters. In an arena such as this, with so much on the line, level heads will be needed. Crowley, though, has come to harness the intrinsic Italian spirit.
“With the Italian culture, you’ve got to embrace it. Yeah, it’s a big game. Yeah, there’s pressure. Go and give it sh**. You can’t walk away from that.”
Post-World Cup, Crowley will shift from Italy to guide Japanese club Honda.
Italy meet France in their final pool match but an unlikely upset triumph over the All Blacks might prolong Crowley’s next move a little longer.
On this occasion, Italy sure won’t die wondering.
“We’ll be having a crack. We’ll give it everything and see what happens.”
Get full coverage of the Rugby World Cup.
