The Azzurre's electric wing, 22, is in contention for both the Guinness Women’s Six Nations Player of the Championship and Try of the Championship awards, her thrilling performances brought her three tries for a second successive campaign.
If she wins either, then she will be the third young Italian player to win a Six Nations award in 2024, after Tommaso Menoncello won the Guinness Player of the Championship and Lorenzo Pani claimed Try of the Championship for his rapier-like score against Wales on Super Saturday.
While D’Incà is naturally proud to have been nominated for both awards, she is quick to praise those who she says help her play to her maximum.
See the nominees for the 2024 Try of the Championship
“I was very grateful and satisfied,” she told us. “I was pleased because it was a reward for all my work, but it is a sign of the work from my teammates and all the staff and medical team.
“It is a sign of how well they have all worked so that I can play my best on the field.”
SIDESTEPPING TO THE LINE
D’Incà is up against England fullback Ellie Kildunne, Ireland flanker Aoife Wafer, and France’s number eight Romane Menager for the Player of the Championship.
In the race for Try of the Championship she faces competition from Kildunne and her Red Roses teammate Abby Dow, and French prop Annaëlle Deshaye.
D’Inca’s entry came four minutes from time in Italy’s 38-15 loss to France in Paris and was her second of the Round 3 encounter. She also crossed the line, against Scotland in Round 4.
Italy’s number 11 pops up on Emma Stevanin’s shoulder after the Azzurre centre had broken the line, and after throwing in a delicate sidestep, she speeds down the line past a despairing Morgane Bourgeois to score.
“I remember I was feeling really tired, but I was looking for space,” she said. “I saw that Emma had managed to break the line and I was ready to take the offload.
“I shouted as loudly as I could so that she could give me the ball and then I just ran as fast as I could, and thankfully I was able to get away to score.
“At those moments you don’t think, ‘I’d better do a sidestep.’ It just comes from somewhere inside you, and it is only when you watch it back that you realise you’ve done a sidestep. Then when I saw I was in the clear, all I thought about was running as fast as I could.”
FIFTH-PLACE FINISH
Italy finished the Championship in fifth place following one win and four defeats.
Since the end of the tournament D’Incà has had a week off, but she will be back in action with Villorba RFC when Serie A Femminile resumes on 19 May.
Giovanni Raineri’s team went into the final day still in contention for third place which would have booked a place at the England 2025 Rugby World Cup and WXV1, which will take place in Canada later this year.
Italy’s only win came on the road, when they beat Ireland 27-21 in Cork, and Wales’s late try in round five mean they finished the Championship with a 22-20 defeat.
As such Raineri’s side will return to South Africa where they narrowly finished second behind Scotland for the WXV2 title in 2023.
“We had to take a few days to reflect, but we were very frustrated,” D’Incà said. “We made basic mistakes that meant we didn’t have the chance in our hands to secure third place and book our place at the World Cup and WXV1.
“We are bit disappointed with our tournament because it didn’t go well at times. It was frustrating and we know we need to raise our level.”
SUMMER PLANS
WXV2 is the next time that Italy are due in action, though there are plans to organise pre-tournament matches.
However, as she is 22, D’Incà is eligible for the recently-announced Women’s Summer Series that Italy will host in Parma on the 4th, 9th, and 14th July.
Teams will be predominantly made up of Under-20 players, but each union is able to select up to three Under-23 players per match day squad.
If she does play in the Summer Series, D’Incà’s experience mean she will be one of the team’s leaders, something she has grown to enjoy since making her international debut in 2021.
She will be expected to lead from the front, share her experience and make the young players know what wearing the Italy shirt means.
“I definitely feel more part of the squad,” she said. “I first came into the squad when I was 18 years old and after four years I am certainly more confident in expressing my opinion, considering I used to be a bit introverted.
“It is still a huge emotion. When I see the shirt in the changing room, and I look at it and hold it, I feel like my heart will explode. A shiver goes through my whole body when I think about wearing the shirt because doing so really is something special.”
