Italy Under 20 captain David Odiase has left the rugby world stunned again after delivering a highly impassioned speech to his teammates at the World Rugby U20 Championships.
The 6ft 3in flanker hit the headlines earlier this year for a remarkable post-match interview, in which he said the Italians were now a team to fear having "eaten s**t for years".
And now he's back in the spotlight after leading his team to a shock first ever win over hosts South Africa, with the Azzurri triumphing 34-26 in Paarl to spark wild scenes at the final whistle.
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While Italian rugby is now firmly on the up, the result still came as a shock to many - but a video of Odiase that has gone viral following the match has shown exactly where his side get the fire and determination that they played with against the Junior Springboks.
As part of a World Rugby series following teams at the U20 World Championships, cameras were allowed into the Italian dressing room ahead of their tournament opener against Argentina, with the 20-year-old skipper addressing his teammates as they stood huddled around him.
"We did great things during the Six Nations," he begins. "We did great things. Let’s look at each other in the eyes. It’s us. It’s us! We represent our nation! We represent our values! "
"We came here to fight for the respect of our nation. And from the first minute of this tournament to the end we fight together. We are 30 Italian soldiers fighting for our home country!
Now shouting with his eyes bulging and sweat dripping off him, he continued: "Never again will they disrespect our peers! Never again will they doubt us! Never again will they doubt Giovanni. Never again will they doubt you!
"Because we are a family. I fight for you! I fight for your family and you fight for mine! I fight for you!”
While the spine-tingling speech could not lead the Italians to a opening day win against Argentina, however, they played with the same fire in their bellies against the 'Boks, fighting until the end with Giovanni Sante's penalty six minutes from time delivering them the win.
And Odiase's maturity and inspirational leadership has left former Test stars stunned, with former Scotland lock Jim Hamilton tweeting that the shock win against South Africa "makes sense now" after watching the Italian skipper rally his troops, while England international Ugo Monye described the speech as "so good".
It comes after Odiase, who plays his club rugby in France with Oyonnax, caught the world's attention both on and off the field during this year's U20s Six Nations.
Playing every minute of the championship, he inspired the Azzurri to a third-place finish with wins over Wales and Scotland, but it was his remarkable live TV interview following their narrow 28-27 defeat to France that was particularly memorable.
"I'm very proud of my lads, they are doing very good," he said. "Apart from the result, I'm very proud we are sending a big message to the world of rugby that we are coming for all of you people. We have been walking out, eating s**t a lot for the past years and now the results have started coming, it's just the beginning of a long process.
"One day we can compete with all the international teams, I'm very proud of my guys, proud of the result. A very hard game, very hard guys, but at the end, who wins is the best. I'm really proud of being part of all this, being proud of the national team. I'm very happy apart from the result."
