Sebastian Negri: Rugby cannot shy away from its physical side

Italy’s blindside flanker is a star of new Netflix series but details of his concussion recovery puts spotlight on the dangers of big hits

Sebastian Negri is the sort of player that will never go out of fashion. Burly, brave and committed, he relishes confrontation and collisions.
Italy’s blindside flanker is a star of the Netflix documentary that has foreshadowed this season’s Six Nations. His appearance, as a focal point of episode two, tows the tricky line that rugby union is treading between raising awareness of brain injuries and promoting – even glamorising – primal, physical contests.
There are chastening details of the concussion Negri suffered on the pitch against England in 2022, and how Ellis Genge stopped him from choking. Then the cameras track Negri’s combative – and cathartic – performance at Twickenham a year later. He has been humbled by the feedback.
“There has been a lot of appreciation for what we go through as athletes; the hits we take and the physicality of the game,” Negri tells the Telegraph Rugby Podcast. “I’ve also got one or two messages from worried mums, saying ‘be careful of your head, there’s life after rugby’. I’ve also taken that on board. But, listen, that’s the nature of rugby. It’s a physical game and I’m going to do everything I can to fulfil my role.”
The 29-year-old will spearhead Italy’s effort to land a first ever victory over England at a packed Stadio Olimpico on Saturday. He says a tight-knit network of friends, family and his fiancée, Greta, instil him with confidence for these skirmishes. Clearly spying a selling point, Netflix did not sanitise the blood and thunder of Test matches. Neither does Negri.
“That’s my role,” he shrugs. “I don’t see too much past that. I want to be as physical as possible and push the limits. Maybe that’s a bit short-sighted because there are days when it’s a struggle to get out of bed and big games where it takes two or three days to walk properly.
“I understand that there are risks involved, but that’s just my mentality and my role for the team. That’s why I put on an Italy jersey. It’s just the way it is. I’m going to continue that until I’m not motivated to do it anymore.”
Italy eventually lost 31-14 to Steve Borthwick’s side 12 months ago, but outscored England in the second half. Negri was a marauding menace to the hosts.
“It was special to me because of what happened the previous year,” he admits. “I’d got a horrific head injury which took me a long time to get over. The symptoms I had – waking up and vomiting, headaches – had a massive effect on me and the people around me. They could see that I wasn’t myself.
“Going into that England game, I was just thinking that I wanted to give it everything and I was proud of how I did individually. I also think the second-half fight that we showed as a team was pretty special.”
A year-long lag between filming and release means many Netflix viewers will be unaware of how the Six Nations teams acquitted themselves at the 2023 World Cup. Italy, who were optimistic going in, had their hopes shattered in two gruesome losses to New Zealand and France. Negri started all four pool matches and, unsurprisingly, addresses an awkward truth.
“That definitely hurt us because we had worked so hard to get respect and credibility back,” he says. “We genuinely believed that we had the tools and the talent within the team to put in better performances against France and New Zealand. If you look at the whole World Cup, we weren’t really at the races.
“We didn’t have a convincing performance against Namibia. Against Uruguay, it was a second-half performance that got us over the line. Then we let ourselves down, and there’s no one else you can blame.”
“I haven’t thought about it too much and I don’t think we should,” Negri adds. “We stuffed up. We’ve got to take that on the chin. We’ve now got the chance to right those wrongs. I don’t think any less of anyone I played with. We just had an off World Cup.”
The feeling of “letting down” Kieran Crowley was particularly gutting for Negri and his colleagues. Crowley’s replacement as Italy head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, will be tasked with adding pragmatism and defensive steel while still accentuating the backline brilliance of Paolo Garbisi, Tommaso Menoncello, Ange Capuozzo and others.
“We want to attack and we don’t want to lose the flair and what we’ve built over the last 12-18 months because there’s a really good foundation there,” Negri explains. “But we’ve also got to have a conservative approach, at times. We’re not going to throw the ball around willy-nilly. We’ve got to have some control, whether that’s with the boot or being in better shape. I’m not going to give too much away.”
The suggestion that England could be a different challenge without their absentees, including Courtney Lawes and Owen Farrell, is met abruptly. “Absolutely not,” Negri insists, and stresses Borthwick’s return from the World Cup. “They’re the third-best side in the world.” While upbeat about the form of his Benetton side, who have contributed 17 members of Quesada’s squad, Negri is realistic that “the Six Nations is two or three steps up from the URC [United Rugby Championship].”
Even if his Six Nations build-up has been punctuated by a glitzy premiere and Netflix stardom, you sense that Negri will be at his happiest when the whistle blows to begin another battle.
“There’s a feel-good factor, but we know that it’s going to be as tough as it always is,” he finishes. “We can’t wait for Saturday.”