Italy's new boss looking to mix Latin passion with Anglo-Saxon pragmatism

Optimism comes with the territory when a new coach takes the reins and the Argentinian, a dapper dresser and multilinguist with a beaming smile, certainly made a good impression at the tournament launch in Dublin last month.

SMOOTH OPERATOR: Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada during the post-match press conference. Pic: Giuseppe Fama, Inpho

If a chain is only as strong as its weakest link then it was never going to take a bolt cutters to work through the glossy Netflix treatment and expose the obvious shortcomings with which most of the teams approached this Six Nations.

Wales are in the midst of a complete rebuild, and against the backdrop of all the usual financial woes and identity issues afflicting the game there, England are still looking for something more than blood, sweat and tears, while Scotland continue to wax and wane under Gregor Townsend.