The Italian side are 13 points adrift at the bottom but will aim to make up valuable ground on their Irish hosts and Elwood insists they aren’t to be underestimated.

“They've struggled to get results and will look to the game against us as a means to get their season back on track, so we're expecting a battle alright," said Elwood.

“They were 10-0 up after 30 minutes at home to the Scarlets last week, so we know they can score points, but we're confident in our own ability, confident in our own defence and we'll stick to our game plan and back ourselves.

“Brian Tuohy, Eoin Griffin, Dermot Murphy, these guys are doing the business and putting their hand up for selection and it's great to see it.

“We're trying to play a bit more expansively and increase the interplay between the forwards and backs and I think we really showed that against Edinburgh.

“The last couple of times we've gone to Murrayfield we've taken a bit of a hiding, so this really shows how far we've come

“To come back from being 21-10 down shows a lot of character from the boys.

“To come back into bonus-point territory allows you to press ahead and go for the win and maybe, with a bit more composure, we could have closed out the game.”