Allan's 'Mr X' doing it just for kicks
The 22-year-old – who has been compared to Italy's legendary kicker Diego Dominguez – sends an England-based coach videos of his kicking over the Internet and the coach analyses them before giving advice on how to improve technique.
Allan refuses to name the mystery advisor. But he says it has been extremely positive for him.
"I have to send him clips or talk to him over the phone," Allan said.
"It has been going well the last few months and I’ve been working hard on it and it helps my confidence and hopefully this week will go well as well," added Allan, whose idols are England's 2003 World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, All Black great Dan Carter and Irish playmaker Jonathan Sexton.
Allan, who plays club rugby for fallen French giants Perpignan, said that when he is on the pitch he tries to blank out the action going on around him.
"It is a lot of mental rehearsal," said Allan, who has racked up 60 points in 17 Tests since making his debut in 2013.
"Working on the routine and getting in the zone really, not thinking about what is going on around you, just concentrating on the task."
Italy-born Allan does not seem to regret his decision to turn his back on the land of his father William's birth, Scotland. He did however play for the Scotland Under-17, Under-18 and Under-20 sides before making his mind up.
One of his uncles, John Allan, played for both Scotland and South Africa.
Italy have lost all three of their warm-up games, twice to Scotland and once to Wales. But Allan is encouraged by the wave of young players breaking into the team and perhaps promising a better future for the team.
"We try and bring a lot of confidence with our game," said Allan, whose mother captained the Italy women's team in the first Test they played.
"We’ve been together for two years now and I think that we are more confident in how we want to play and we want to show that there is also a backline in the Italy team and not only a forward pack."
Agence France-Presse
