On 12 March 2022 Italian rugby was staring at a 36th successive Six Nations defeat and an unwanted seventh Wooden Spoon. They needed a hero.

Eight months later, Ange Capuozzo was named World Rugby's breakthrough player of the year.

Born in France and progressing through the ranks at his hometown club Grenoble, initially as a scrum-half, Capuozzo was overlooked by Les Bleus at age-group level.

Italy would not make the same mistake.

Eligible to play for the Azzurri through his Italian parents, the fleet-footed Capuozzo represented the country's junior teams before stepping off the bench to make a remarkable senior debut in the penultimate game of last year's Six Nations.

Two tries in 17 second-half minutes in the defeat by Scotland were followed by a stunning solo run to carve out Edoardo Padovani's last-gasp try in a precious win over Wales in Cardiff to end a 36-game losing streak in the competition.

Victory was not enough to halt Italy's miserable run of seven Wooden Spoons but Wales winger Josh Adams presented his man-of-the-match medal to Capuozzo in admiration of his performance - and a star had been born.

At 5ft 8in (1.77m) and weighing 12st 9lbs (82kg), Capuozzo's physical make-up is not what you would expect at the highest level.

The world has seen shorter players thrill crowds before with the likes of Wales' Shane Williams and South Africa's Cheslin Kolbe - but both men had stockier builds than the slender Capuozzo.

The 23-year-old was described as "paper thin" by former Ireland centre Brian O'Driscoll on ITV last week - but do not be fooled by the curly hair and the boyish charm, for what he may lack in stature, he offsets with his devastating speed and dazzling footwork.

Capuozzo arrived at international level from relative obscurity, but his performances led to a move from Grenoble to five-time Heineken Champions Cup winners and European giants Toulouse last summer.

With six Test tries in eight appearances, Capuozzo's exciting international career is still in its infancy but he is well on the way to filling the void left by the colossus Sergio Parisse as Italian rugby's new poster boy.

"He is so agile and quick off the mark," Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney told BBC Sport.

"He has been great for us when he has space, breaking the line and beating that first tackle. It just shows you can be any size to play rugby."

Having pierced a couple of holes in the Australia defence during Italy's first ever win over the Wallabies in the autumn, Capuozzo sniped over with an excellent finish in the Azzurri's narrow opening-round defeat by champions France on Sunday.

Welsh-born Varney, 21, recalls his team-mate demanding the ball in the build-up.

"He can see the space," said Gloucester's Varney. "He saw Antoine Dupont shoo the other way which left a 10-metre gap so he was screaming for the ball. I gave it early and he did the rest."

'We barely see him'

With all of his new-found fame and adulation, Capuozzo remains grounded and still has a passion for computer games.

It means he is as elusive off the field as on it, says Varney.

"He is a class bloke. He loves gaming and plays a bit of Fifa and Call of Duty, so we barely see him as he is always locked away in his room on his portable gaming device," joked Varney.

"I played Fifa against him on the train on the way down to Verona from Rome and he is decent to be fair."

This young Italy side may not have an elder statesmen like Parisse - who retired from international rugby in 2019 - or Martin Castrogiovanni, but they have a togetherness and courage to play which may have been missing in previous years.

With an average age of 26, Italy are brimming with youthful exuberance - something head coach Kieran Crowley is clearly keen to tap into.

The New Zealander wants them to play an exciting brand of rugby with ball in hand and not be shackled by fear of defeat or making mistakes.

That plan will not change against a wounded England side looking for an emphatic first win of Steve Borthwick's tenure at Twickenham on Sunday.

Varney added: "With Kieran coming in, he has brought a new playing style which suits the players we have.

"It's been a really good year for us and hopefully we get a few wins now in the Six Nations."

Asked what Crowley has instilled in the players, Varney said: "Just to be courageous. We want to play from everywhere, as you saw against France.

"People say it's 'suicide rugby' but we see that as an insult because we are trying to play that kind of game. We got close against France and we are up for the challenge against England."