Italrugby: our pride remains intact. During the third Six Nations match played by the Azzurri, hosted at Rome's Olympic Stadium on 24 February, the national men's team failed, by a handful of tries, to beat the Irish team, who are number 2 in the world ranking. After a spectacular first half, in which Italy maintained a score of 16 to 12, the challenge ended with an honourable 16-26. In what was Italy's best performance at the tournament so far, followed by an audience of at least 50,000 fans including the CEO of Cattolica, Alberto Minali, they  showed great tenacity and strength of will, performing at a level worthy of the entire rugby movement. Italy fought bravely, considering the calibre of its opponent, a Six Nations champion.

Between the first and second halves, the Olympic Stadium's big screens lit up to show the faces of the national women's team. The athletes cheered the Azzurri on, sending messages of support to their team mates. The women of rugby, in turn taking part in the Women's Six Nations, are notching up success after success. They won in Scotland in the first round (28-7), drew in Lecce against Wales (3-3) in the second, and beat Ireland in Parma (29-27) in the third. England and France will be their fiercest opponents, but Italy is ready. And her goal is to win the tournament.

For both national teams, the next challenge takes place on 9 March against England. At Twickenham Stadium in London for the men's team and Sandy Park in Exeter for the women. If the Italian women win, they stake a claim on first place in the 2019 Six Nations.