CHRIS HEWETT
GUEST COLUMNIST

OCTOBER 2003 was a busy old month, what with Mother Teresa being beatified by Pope John Paul II, the Chinese launching their first manned space mission and some bloke by the name of Schwarzenegger bench-pressing his way to the governorship of California. It was easy, therefore, to miss the fact that Italy’s rugby players were busier than everyone else.
On the 11th, Alessandro Troncon’s team – armed with players as good as Marco Bortolami, Sergio Parisse and the Bergamasco brothers – leaked 70 points to the All Blacks in their opening World Cup pool game. Wit...