Rugby World Cup | Bitonci, Fedrighi, Turani talk about their opening game against France,

YORK - Alia Bitonci (pictured kicking), Valeria Fedrighi and Silvia Turani talk about their opening game for Italy against France, the next challenge against South Africa in Pool D on Sunday, pre-match rituals and family backing.

Alia Bitonci

On coming off the bench to play in Italy's first game, against France:

"I was very excited, it was an honour to be in the first, 23. It was a, a really tough game, France is one of the best teams, they are going to hope to get to the final, so it was difficult. We had few balls, so it was hard to get tries and score. We have to move on because Sunday we have another important match.

On the approach to the game against South Africa on Sunday:

"We know that South Africa is a really physical team. We have to set up a faster game with our backs. We have to try to have more possession and try to score."

On maintaining morale:

"After the game we were sad, and there was a lot of frustration, but we just have to stay together and come back and try to train as hard as possible."

On being ranked seventh in the world, five places higher than South Africa:

"It's important to know the team we play against. South Africa is very powerful, strong, more physical than us, so the match on Sunday will be very different from the preparation we had for France, but the ranking doesn’t matter."

On York, their new base:

"I’ve been here already; we played here during the Six Nations. This is actually where I got my first cap, so it’s very special. There's more emotion now because it's a World Cup but it’s always special."

On any superstitions or rituals before a game:

"In the changing room I have a list of things to do. I put on my socks and then the shorts, shirt, contact lenses, very methodical. Always the same order."

On whom she looks up to the most:

"I'm looking up to [scrum-half] Sofia [Stefan] just because she plays my position and has a lot of experience. On Sunday she is probably getting her 100th cap. It's a pleasure to train with her. And if I say someone who is not in my position, Michela Sillari. We are also teammates in Italy. We play for the same club."

Valeria Fedrighi

On how differently do they approach the Springboks game compared to the France game:

"It's different but we don't think South Africa is going to be easy at all because they are very physical, very strong and they run straight into you. We are not underestimating them. We have to keep our defence very strong, as we did against France and we have to run a lot."

On the importance of winning this weekend as regards the following one:

"It's fundamental. It's very, very important. We have two game left and if we want to go to the quarter-finals, we have to win both the games. That's the goal."

On any superstitions or rituals before a game:

"I always do braids on my hair. I have to play with braids, at least one. I also wear the same socks and bra. I listen to music as well, but braids and the same underwear is fundamental to me."

Silvia Turani

On whether keeping the ball is Italy's big priority against South Africa:

"I'd say definitely, and fixing set pieces because if we get the ball and then we lose the ball in lineouts or in scrums, that's already not having the ball."

On whether being ranked seventh in the world, five places higher than South Africa, affects how they approach the game:

"South Africa is a different team compared to France so you'll approach the game slightly different but just because of the characteristic of the team. I wouldn't necessarily say the fact they are lower than us in the ranking is influencing the way we are prepping the game. It's more just analysing their attack and their defence, but the focus is always on us first."

On preparing for South Africa's physicality:

"Very physical. We played them in South Africa last year and the year before, so we already know how the collisions are and how big they are. So that's definitely one of the focuses. I'd say when it's our turn in defence we know we need to get low. Otherwise, they are strong, and they have leg drive and they're really strong in contact, so that will be the main focus in defence. And we just need to stop them going forward as soon as possible.

"And in attack, with them being a really physical team, our strength is being unpredictable and being able to move the ball and create something from nowhere."

On any rituals or superstitions before a game:

"I have many rituals. The whole day my main source of carbs will be rice. I will eat rice cakes, rice, it's all about rice. Then before the game I have to go outside wearing something which is not Italian kit. I have to go for coffee or have my hair done, whatever it is, but dressing up.

"I have to wear mascara, always the same underwear and once in the changing room I need to spray perfume in specific places, my wrists, my neck and the back of my head. Before warm-up I brush my teeth and then when we come inside again, I have to brush my teeth again and put perfume on again."

On how that ritual began:

"I only use one perfume which is Acqua di Gio by Giorgio Armani. It’s my dad's perfume. I just started using that perfume as a way of being connected with them. I love smelling good. And then mascara. I truly believe that if you feel pretty and beautiful, you play better. Look good, feel good, play good."

On whether her family are in England to watch her play:

"My family is actually coming for this game. My brother flew to Manchester yesterday and he's doing a bike trip from Manchester to York. He's stopping in many different places. He's crazy with bikes, so he'll arrive straight for the game on his bike, whereas my mum and dad will fly on Saturday. My mum said she has a T-shirt to surprise me, so we'll see what the T-shirt is."

On whether they helped her in her rugby journey:

"I wouldn't say that necessarily. I started playing when I was 22, so I was already at university, and they were not expecting me to play rugby at all. At the start they were quite, like, 'We don't want you to play rugby.' I remember a family lunch, a couple of months into my rugby, let's say, career - which was probably more a hobby - being sat down by them with my brother, who also played at the time, [and them] being like, 'Look, both of you, just stop playing. Rugby is a really dangerous sport. We just want you to stop playing rugby.' And we're like, 'Oh, this is a weird lunch.' We said, 'No, I don't think so.' That was my last year of uni so I should have started looking for jobs, but I decided to stay in Parma, where I was playing at that time, to pursue a more professional career.

"I think that was where they were really challenging me: 'Silvia, you are forgetting that rugby is a sport not a career.' They were right at that point, because we didn't have contracts in Italy. Rugby is not professional; clubs would not give you a contract.

"At that point they weren't, let's say, really supportive, and they challenged me a lot on that. I think it all changed when in 2021, before the last World Cup, I did my ACL. I was playing in France at that time, doing a double degree in France and playing rugby there.

"I did my ACL, and in order to recover, because I wasn't covered by insurance in France, I had to go back to Italy and get operated there and move back in with my parents. They saw my commitment because I would wake up at five in the morning, go to the gym, started working in my dad's company, and then go to physio in the afternoon and got back crying every day because it was such a painful rehab. They got to see what rugby really meant to me, and that’s what I believe changed their mind.

"They would come to games at times. Then I moved to England after that to play for the [Exeter] Chiefs and now for Quins [Harlequins], and I think that's where now I'm professional, I have a contract in Italy, I have a contract with Quins, it's very much a proper career, they respect that."

On whether the Rugby World Cup will help more people in Italy understand rugby:

"I'm not really sure about this. I'm a player at the World Cup. I'll open my Instagram and it's all about the World Cup, it's very easy to be biased in thinking everyone is speaking about the World Cup. Whereas probably if a friend of mine who is not into rugby opens their Instagram, there is nothing about the World Cup. I think in Italy we still have a huge work to do in order to make rugby more mainstream. We still have a lot to do in order to be interesting and be listened to by anyone outside the rugby community."