Six Nations 2019: Conor O'Shea brushes off reports he will be replaced as Italy head coach
Irishman believes the FIR should be looking for his successor but he has no plans to abandon his attempt to revolutionise Italian rugby
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Your support makes all the difference.Conor O’Shea has brushed off reports that he is on the verge of being replaced as Italy head coach by insisting that he would be alarmed if his bosses at the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) weren’t already looking for possible successors.
Reports emerged on Monday that the FIR were considering replacing O’Shea with Racing 92 coaches Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit, and while those rumours were strongly denied on Tuesday by president Alfredo Gavazz, who wrote on Twitter: "Unlike the information broadcast by some French media, @Federugby has never made contact with Laurent Travers and/or Laurence Labit. Unfounded rumors: all our support for Conor, his staff and the entire team for the Six Nations."
Both Travers and Labit were sounded out by the FIR before O’Shea was appointed in 2016. But after losing all 10 of his Six Nations matches in charge, O’Shea is under pressure to get Italy back on an upward trajectory and competing with the likes of Scotland, who they face on the opening weekend of the Six Nations championship next weekend.
And while the public backing suggested that O’Shea will not be replaced any time before the Rugby World Cup in September, it did raise unnecessary attention on the Irishman’s future on the eve of the Six Nations launch event.
"It's what you expect, because we're in this for Italian Rugby," O'Shea said in south London on Wednesday.
"Do they want me to stay on? Yes. Would I expect them to be looking at alternatives? They say they're not but I hope they are.
"If they weren't, they would be slammed for not looking at alternatives.”
The former Harlequins boss was keen not to have the attention drawn on his future though, instead insisting that the focus remains on their preparations for facing Scotland at Murrayfield next Saturday.
O’Shea’s appoint may not have reaped rewards in terms of the Six Nations, but they at least secured the important victory over Georgia last November that has silenced calls for promotion and relegation to be introduced to the Six Nations - something that O’Shea relished in apologising for, tongue firmly in cheek.
But while they have continued to struggle against the might of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, O’Shea’s appointment has very much been about building Italian rugby from the ground up just as much as it has been about results.
Sitting alongside long-serving captain Sergio Parisse - who remarkably has played in 14 of Italy’s 19 Six Nations campaigns - O’Shea hopes that the pair of them can look back in years to come and reflect on the Italian rugby revolution that they helped to trigger.
"In 10 years' time I want to be having a beer sitting in the stadium with this guy (Parisse) watching an Italy team doing well, (so) that we can say we had a hand in its progress,” he added.
"The only concern I have is Scotland. I can't wait to lead this team to the World Cup and beyond.
"It is not about me, it's about Italian rugby. The next decision has to be the right thing."
O’Shea and Parisse are not the only ones trying to kick-start Italy into life, either. As they head into their 20th Six Nations championship - having claimed the Wooden Spoon 13 times - O’Shea has called upon former New Zealand coach Wayne Smith for his expertise to try and help turn the ship around and ensure it is not a fourth consecutive championship without a win.
"We've been very fortunate to work with Wayne Smith on and off in the last year," O'Shea added. "He's worked very closely with back-up staff and helped us to introduce new things to the team.
"He came for the two weeks on the (summer) tour, and he'll be with us for a couple of weeks in July. It's not very often you sit down with someone and think 'god I know nothing about rugby'. He's a great counsel to have, but the big thing is he can articulate because he's fluent in Italian.
"When he's over it's a very easy communication but for us now it's more behind the scenes.
"It's a counsel from afar and more a build-up to the World Cup. In a way it's the same thing but a different voice.
"And people say 'wow I hadn't thought of it like that'. Sometimes you need preconceptions to be put away. Some of that's human nature. It's a multi-faceted challenge. So we beg borrow and steal what we can."
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