‘Come and chat face-to-face’: Tizzano responds to those who called him a diver after Lions clear-out
The impact on his neck ruled Tizzano out of the third Lions Test, while online abuse and accusations he had taken a dive provided an unsavoury postscript. Tizzano, though, moved on quickly, both physically and mentally. He had to – the Wallabies departed for the Rugby Championship Tests against South Africa days later.
Over coffee in the late autumn sunshine in Udine, where the Wallabies will face Italy on Saturday (Sunday morning, AEDT), Tizzano is happy to be back in the land of his forefathers. It feels perverse to return to the Lions series three months on, but the questions need to be asked. Firstly, what did he feel when Morgan hit him at the ruck?
Carlo Tizzano is cleaned out by Jac Morgan in the second Test.Credit: Nine
“I don’t think I’ve ever been taken off for an injury ever, touch wood, but, obviously, it was contact to back of head, or neck, and my foot was actually on one of my players’ boots,” Tizzano said.
“I wasn’t necessarily super balanced, and because Jac’s a tough dude, he’s a powerful athlete, so getting in that position, I’m quite low, and that just jams you back. Having nerve damage in my neck previously, if anyone that’s had nerve damage, it’s like boiling water gets poured through from your neck all the way down your trap in your arm.
“I hit my head, my nerve stuff activated, I’m gonna hold my head … so yeah, that is what happened. I can’t change the past, but, you know what, move on – it’s water under the bridge. Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it since that week, and it’s all gone now.”
Ask any player in Australia who has faced Tizzano, and they will tell you he rarely stays down after heavy contact. He sustained a knee injury against Japan but played through severe pain to finish the game. After being told he could potentially be out for several weeks, Tizzano politely disagreed, flew from Tokyo to London and used up the plane’s supply of ice to ensure he could get back to training at the earliest opportunity.
The online criticism he suffered didn’t bother him. He believes growing up in an Italian household and swapping insults with his three brothers helped him develop a tough skin early. As a professional athlete, Tizzano has also benefited from working closely with Penrith Panthers mental skills coach Dan Haesler, who he credits with helping him shut out external noise.
However, Tizzano was surprised by the criticism he received from former Test players, especially the suggestion he had “dived” in an attempt to win a penalty after the Morgan clear-out. Tizzano refuses to name any pundits who criticised him after the Lions Test.
“I thought maybe those guys who played previously, the pundits, would be a bit more considerate and understand, because they’ve been there, done it,” Tizzano said.
“Spectators haven’t done it. They haven’t played Test match rugby. But these guys that have, and they understand what your body goes through every single week, that’s the thing I didn’t – and I don’t – really understand. I don’t think I ever will.”
Though ruled out of the third Test, Tizzano watched the match from the sidelines and, afterwards, Morgan approached him to offer his support – an act that touched the Force player.
“Full credit to Jac Morgan,” Tizzano said. “After the third Test, he came up to me straight away and actually spoke to me, and said, ‘Mate, I hope you’re good, I thought you had an awesome tour and you’re a great player.’”
“I really appreciated him, he didn’t have to do that, but he’s the No.7, he gets it. He gets the weekly grind of what you have to put your body through, even just when you’re training.”
The Force breakaway also received support from teammates, Schmidt and former players, notably his old sparring partner at the Waratahs, Michael Hooper. He retains a valuable perspective on criticism from anonymous accounts online that came his way.
Australia’s Carlo Tizzano is tackled by defenders in Japan after an impressive performance.Credit: AP
“If someone who has no profile pic on Instagram, is following 5,000 accounts, has no followers, no photos and is on private is saying, ‘Carlo Tizzano is a coward’, or a cheater, or whatever, if they still think that, feel free to come have a chat to me face-to-face – and not in a confrontational way,” Tizzano said.
“I’d love to talk to them and enlighten them on what it’s like as a rugby player, come into a session and watch us do breakdown work, come into a gym session, see how much neck work we do to make sure that we are able to do the job we do, and put on a performance for them to watch.”
Tizzano is easy and enjoyable company, helping to order coffees in Italian and politely offering to pay. The Lions series is in the past and he is deeply disappointed the knee injury will prevent him playing against Italy. On Thursday, Tizzano’s brother Cristiano, who plays for Benetton nearby in Treviso, joined the Wallabies for training.
Tizzano had the opportunity to play for Italy, having been contacted by former coach Conor O’Shea in 2018 about his availability, before taking the long route with the Wallabies and eventually making his Test debut last August against South Africa.
Nursing an espresso, Tizzano talks of his pride in his family heritage, from his dad Eno and mum Sonia.
“Especially the last couple of years, I’m really proud of where my family’s from, but also, I’m extremely proud Australian and I’m so happy to be Australian,” Tizzano said.
“I’m so honoured to be playing for the Australian national team, but I’m from my parents and my heritage is from Italy.
“That’s, I think, where my passion, my fire, my competitive edge on the field shows, it’s very Neapolitan.”
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That competitive edge is needed to earn a starting spot in the Wallabies No.7 jumper, given Tizzano’s direct competitor is Fraser McReight, who will start against Italy, after an outstanding performance in the defeat against England last Saturday.
Tizzano was desperate to play against Italy, but understands that although his mind is strong, his knee needs a little extra time to recover. Tizzano is an admirer of McReight’s skillset, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t desperate to take his Wallabies jersey from him soon.
“I’m so lucky and privileged to be in a position with a guy like Fraser because say against Japan, I went and thought I went and had a really good game,” he says. “And then he goes against England and gets five turnovers, he just went, you know what, I’m going to one-up you.
“Now when I play next, I’m like, ‘You know what, now I need to one-up you’. We’re not necessarily the closest of friends, but we have that type of competitive edge with each other – just trying to constantly do better than one another, but in a healthy way.
“I want to see him do well because if he’s doing well, I want to do better and vice versa. I think it’s a really healthy competition to have.
“We’ve been competing with each other for a very long time, seven years now, where we’ve just been breathing down each other’s throats. It’s really cool, and I hope it carries on for many more years to come.”
