The United Kingdom crowns the Azzurri because, the day after their Six Nations debut, which saw Italy win 18-15 against Scotland, the British media praised the performance of Quesada's men. And it's no coincidence that, even on the eve of the tournament, even across the Alps, there was talk of the Azzurri being the favorites.

Unthinkable a while ago, but so much has changed in recent years, and so The Guardian writes of an Italy team "shining in the storm to get the best possible start in Rome," while the BBC calls the Azzurri players "demons," better able to adapt to the Roman downpour. Indeed, the Daily Mail calls it a "blue monsoon in Rome."

But the BBC also highlighted yesterday's defeat as a "failure" for Scotland, with the Times pointing the finger at the management of coach Townsend, whose mandate, according to the newspaper, is hanging by a thread.

Meanwhile, his colleague Quesada remains firmly in command of the Italian national team, aware of his team's growth. Yet he refused to participate in the goals-scoring game, even at yesterday's press conference. "We'll let you speak," he said to reporters. "We're happy you're doing the math. But we know where we still need to improve."

(Unioneonline)

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