In the 2011 Championship the Italians beat Wales and Scotland but succumbed to the Irish 26-5 in Rovigo.

And in preparation for this year’s trip to Ireland on February 24 the Italians will meet three days beforehand in Rome where Di Giandomenico admits his side will be eyeing an improvement on their first two performances.

“Above all we need to have the ability to stay in the game regardless of the score,” Di Giandomenico told federugby.it.
“We need to consolidate the progress made up until now and to focus on the growth of the squad.

“I continue to have a lot of faith in this group and I believe in our work because we all know we have a few difficulties but we are always striving to achieve our goals.

“In the next match against Ireland the important thing is to realise our potential and to bring home a victory.”