PlotItalo is a forty-year-old man from Milan who refuses to grow up. He hasn't got a permanent job and lives with his mother and aunt. A keen rugby player, he spends his days training or playing matches. Then there is Rita, who is not too happy at the prospect of playing the eternal role of fiancée. Italo comes to feel the full weight of his years the day in which the coach decides to leave him out of the team, to make room for younger players. Caught in a crisis, Italo accepts a job as physical education teacher in a country school. He finds himself in the Italian region of Romagna, in a Franciscan community managed by a prior, Father Anselmo, with the help of Father Tommaso and Father Sauro. Here he meets a group of somewhat listless lads uncomfortable with traditional schooling, led by wild-eyed Attilio. Italo tries to teach these boys some physical education. Then there is Anna, a girl who is studying to become a veterinary and breaks donkeys in. One day the Cardinal visits the boarding school: the Vatican is planning to build a huge complex on the site. But the project must be approved by Anselmo's father Bastiano, the only shop owner in the area. After some acts of spite and many misunderstandings, Italo finds out that Bastiano too is a rugby enthusiast. Provisions are then made for the development of a rugby field as part of the project. Here, the following August, the Donkeys vs Milan Rugby match takes place. Two years later, Italo and Rita are having a stroll with their child. Anna too is expecting and runs a donkey farm with her husband, a rugby player.