My Experience in Rome: 2025 Men's Six Nations Media Launch – Gladiators are ready for battle
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The eternal city of Rome. Home to the iconic Colosseum, truly delectable pizza and this year’s official launch venue for the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations. It was the first time that the tournament had held it’s grand media showpiece in Italy, which marked the Azzurri’s 25th anniversary of joining the competition. Italy extended the Five Nations Championship into a sextet in 2000, and the Italians are out to mark the occasion in their impeccably fashionable style as the ultimate underdogs.
I arrived in the Italian capital bright an early, and moments after stepping out of the Terminal at
Leonardo da Vinci International Airport, the heavens opened upon the unsuspecting UK arrivals. Paolo, my assigned taxi driver who took me into the heart of the city, thought the weather change was rather hilarious, as I “brought the London weather with me.” It was fair to say that I was surprised to miss the overcast skies at Gatwick, as I dodged the puddles towards the car, before breaking into a hurried jog to the front door of my accommodation.
Find your local Greene King and settle in for the 2025 Six Nations!
As I unloaded my overnight bag, I was instantly hit by an incredible assemble of sounds that drifted up from the streets of the city. Mopeds wizzed passed disgruntled traffic dwellers, as Villa Dello Statuto surged into life for the scheduled afternoon bustle. The roads were gridlocked, so I backed my London acquired knowledge of the underground to navigate Rome’s intertwining arteries and veins of the metro system, which propelled me to the pounding heart of the Repubblica district for the first event.
An orange carpet was rolled out down the entrance of a towering marble block, that led into the voyeur of ‘The Space Cinema’ in Moderno Rome. The other-worldly venue lived up to it’s namesake, and was the selected location to premier episode one of ‘Six Nations: Full Contact, Series 2.’ The media personnel and special guests began to gather in the reception, after an obligatory photo with the displayed Six Nations trophy to mark the occasion.
After strict instructions not to touch the prize for winning ‘Rugby’s Greatest Championship’, I stood awkwardly alongside the iconic piece of silverware, and whilst I may a bit taller than average, my arms had honestly never felt so gangly and in the way. In retrospect I should have opted for a ‘behind the back stance’ akin to a footballer signing their national anthem, yet I chose the classic ‘what do I do with my arms pose’ to look ever so much out of place in the stylish Italian capital.
Anyway, I pressed on and met up with some of my fellow touring colleagues, with the sponsorship’s beverage of choice – Guinness – already being distributed throughout the building crowd. Whilst it may have been more appropriate to sample a fine red wine or sip a tiny espresso in such a city, their was plenty of stock to go round courtesy of the tournament title partners, and after all… when in Rome. The group was then ushered into a cinema screen, before Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison thanked and welcomed everyone to witness the premier of ‘Six Nations: Full Contact’ series two.
With the first episode set to air on January 29th on Netflix in the UK and Ireland, I can’t give too much away from the screening. However, England fans will be excited to know that episode one predominantly focuses upon the tournament preparations for Steve Borthwick’s side, and the opening round fixture away to Italy from the 2024 Six Nations. Fly half talisman Marcus Smith also takes a predominant feature in the episode, with the cameras following him behind the scenes as he shops for luxury cars and signs exclusive brand deals with some big name clients, before his unfortunate calf injury hindered his England hopes.
The first episode also covers the arrival of Italian head coach Gonzalo Quesada, who took over the Azzurri prior to the 2024 Six Nations. The ‘fly on the wall’ style of filming returns in both the English and Italian training camps, with never before seen footage including the England players attempting a round of golf at their training centre in Girona, and follows George Ford with his pregnant partner to get an ultrasound.
Italian captain Michele Lamaro and his fellow back row bruiser Lorenzo Cannone also take starring roles, with the cameras following some additional Italy players to a match of ‘Calcio Historico’. This is a mix between rugby and archaic gladiator battles, and if you’ve never seen this absolute Roman madness, this it’s well worth a dive down the YouTube rabbit hole when you get the chance. The episode finished after 45 minutes to a resounding round of applause, with the general consensus being a positive reception from the reporting media in attendance.
After enjoying the local lasagna with my colleagues I headed for bed, with the alarm set to go again early the following morning. I had forgotten all about the hour I’d lost travelling across from the UK, with my phone dutifully reminding me that I had 6 hours and 12 minutes to sleep before another rocket fueled espresso would kick me into gear the following morning. The next day’s venture was a chance to speak with every head coach and captain for the 2025 Men’s Six Nations, with a full on day of media duties in store for twelve of the tournament’s biggest names.
After a wide awakening courtesy of Nespresso’s finest – I must get one of these machines for home – I ventured down to Spazio Field conference centre, and dodged the uncustomary Italian rain along the way. A Guinness 0.0 branded lanyard clung onto my media pass, which will soon be holding my car keys once I’m back home. Another incredible spiral staircase set the tone for the second day, with the roar of artificial crowd noises emerging from the other side of a low arching hallway.
I entered the museum element of the event to begin with, as I walked through a rainbow of historic Six Nations jerseys and studied enormous grainy black and white prints of squad photos from the nineteenth century. There were also signed match balls from the tournament’s 141 year history, with the timeline covering all from the Home Nations, to France’s Five Nations debut, to the Italian arrival from a quarter of a century ago. The event was split into two rooms, with one showcasing what I could only describe as a catwalk, whilst the second seated hundreds of chairs and two Azzurri light blue sofas.
After some more coffee and a couple of croissants – I managed to overcome the slight language barrier of croissant in Italian being ‘cornetto’, as I didn’t quite fancy an ice cream in this weather – the showpiece event commenced in the ‘catwalk room’. TNT Sports presenter Orla Chennaoui took up the mantle as host for the day’s proceedings and she walked onto the stage under the shadows of the six national jerseys, which were proudly displayed from the rafters in a sea of blue, red, green and white.
Chennaoui welcomed some very esteemed guests, with Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison back behind the microphone, before Italian Rugby President Andrea Duodo and Guinness’ Global Marketing Director Somnath Dasgupta praised the magnitude of the event.
The reporting media were lured into a false sense of predictability, as the expected personnel each had time to thank the audience and expressed their own personal excitement for the competition. Nobody expected what happened next, as man who seemed to be a journalist stood up and walked to centre stage, before belting the iconic baritone beginning of the fabled Italian operatic piece ‘Nessun Dorma’.
Then a handful of the other supposed ‘journalists’ joined the singer on centre stage, for a ‘flash mob’ performance that got quite the emotive response from a room that was stunned into applause. Keeping with Italian’s trademark taste of the eccentric, the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations head coaches and captains were then introduced to a blinding flash of cameras.
It felt like a bizarre combination of Milan fashion week and the WWE Royal Rumble, as the music hit to announce the arrival of Steve Borthwick, who in his fine-tailored suit, was flanked by his newly appointed England captain Maro Itoje, all decked out in the latest striking white home kit.
Italy boss Gonzalo Quesada arrived alongside his captain Michele Lamaro, as did Wales head coach Warren Gatland who walked down the runway with Jac Morgan alongside him. Gregor Townsend and Rory Darge made up the Scottish contingency, after regular captain Sione Tuipulotu was withdrawn with an injury just this past weekend on Glasgow Warriors duties.
There was a hush amongst the crowd as Antoine Dupont arrived on the scene alongside Fabien Galthie, as the player considered by many to be the best in the men’s game arrived in Rome dripping in unmistakable aura. Ireland’s interim head coach Simon Easterby and his captain Caelan Doris rounded off the entrances, with the number eight planting the Six Nations trophy centre stage to set out the Irish intentions of winning the silverware for a historic third time in a row.
The coaches and captains then gathered at the far end of the set, and were immediately mobbed by an incredible light show of camera flashes. Even the likes of 6ft 6″ Maro Itoje was obscured from sight, as the scrummage of photographers jostled for a view, after all the players and head coaches had taken their positions. It was like the players and coaches had walked off a Hollywood set, with the paparazzi battling for a glimpse of the stars of an upcoming blockbuster movie.
The reporters were then sent into the adjacent conference room, as the day promptly progressed into the first press opportunity of the morning. I kept a look over my shoulder for any more sudden performances of Giacomo Puccini’s classics, yet it seemed to be one and done from the talented operatic flash mob. The six national team captains then arrived on the sofas, with Orla Chennaoui leading a questions and answers session with a packed out conference room. The embers began to burn, as the spirit of the Six Nations resonated in the player’s responses, with respect for their rivalries apparent on the all-star sofas.
Once the captains had all said their piece, more alarm clock espresso’s were enjoyed, before the head coaches of the six competing countries then took to the sofas. Amidst the inevitable questions about personal expectations and concerns around injured players, an interesting back-and-forth of barbs was witnessed between the French and Italian head coaches.
Fabien Galthie and Gonzalo Quesada have a long history with one-another, dating back to when Galthie coached Quesada at Stade Francais, from 2004 to 2005. This intriguing personal rivalry certainly caught the eye of the audience, and I will soon be bringing out a couple of talking points pieces from the event, to share what was said between the long time rugby acquaintances.
Even with the assistance of a translator to get his points across from French to English, it was clear that Galthie is out to lead France to their first Six Nations title since 2022. With Antoine Dupont as his captain, Les Bleus are adamant that they will end the run of Irish dominance. The Q&A sessions concluded, and the following few hours took place in the mix zone, with a conveyor belt of rugby A-listers taking the time to speak with the journalists.
Microphones and dictaphones protruded from the mass of reporting media, with each outlet eager to grab a snippet of what the likes of Antoine Dupont or Michele Lamaro had to say about the incoming competition. The players and coaches did the rounds for the best part of two hours, in what was an impressive effort amongst the swirling sea of cameras, tripods and press officers.
Props have to go out to Steve Borthwick and Maro Itoje, as the two towering locks did not bat an eye at the boom mics that were swinging rather close to their heads, and also to Jac Morgan, Caelan Doris and Rory Darge, who like Itoje, navigated the glitz and glamour of their first Six Nations media launch event with a cool calmness. However, Morgan seemed the most taken aback by the occasion, as I managed to grab a few words with the Welsh back row.
It was actually Morgan’s 25th birthday on the day of the media launch, and he enjoyed spending the early morning in Rome’s iconic Colosseum, for the tournament’s official photo shoot. The Ospreys man was also rather relieved that Orla Chennaoui did not lead the mass media crowd into a chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’, despite how the sports presenter joked about embarrassing the 25-year-old. After bouncing from huddle to huddle like a rugby enthused pinball machine, I had sourced quotes from all six captains and head coaches, with one last mission left before I called it a day.
Six Nations CEO Tom Harrison and Director of Rugby Julie Paterson were on hand for a discussion, about what the future looks like for the Championship in the coming years. The executive duo covered a whole manner of topics, with the majority of the chat being off the record. The recording devices were allowed for a brief explanation on the future of the Six Nations Netflix series ‘Full Contact’, and what the future holds for the ‘access all areas’ show.
Adamant that I could use my three lessons on Duolingo to secure a milky coffee to my liking, I ventured back to the refreshments area and requested in broken Italiano “un caffe con latte per favore.” Much to my delight, I received a small jug on the side, to neutralize the strength of the powerful Italian roasted arabica. With the press conferences wrapped up, and the Spazio Field staff eager for us to get a move on, I took off back into the bustling streets of Rome, and ventured home to my accommodation whilst pleasantly surprised at the slight break in the weather.
Once back at my hotel, I fired up my laptop and loaded up all of the audio files to work my way through. My computer almost overheated as I tried to upload 32 audio files at once, and I knew then that this was going to be quite a long evening of trawling through quotes. I needed some sustenance to tide me into an evening of transcriptions, with a little shawarma place catching my eye on the walk back through the town.
Whilst tucking into the Middle Eastern wrap, I kept an eye on the sports news channel that was on in the corner of the restaurant, as a TV package from the very same launch event was broadcast across the country. Even though I could not decipher what was being said, I could sense that the Italian excitement was palpable for the upcoming competitions. The video package ended with Michele Lamaro starring ominously inside the Colloseeum, as he optimized the gladiatorial mentality that the Azzurri are set to bring to the tournament.
Rugby fever has certainly taken off in Italy, with the hopes higher than ever that the men in blue can record some famous wins in the upcoming competition. With posters advertising the Sei Nazioni on everywhere from metro trains to cafe windows, the excitement is set to hit an crescendo that the finest Italian opera singers would appreciate. With the light blue shirt of the Azzurri becoming more commonplace than an AS Roma jersey in the former ‘calcio’ hotspot, it is brilliant to see rugby in the Italian sporting spotlight once again, as we build towards the 2025 Men’s Guinness Six Nations.
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