Lansdowne Road could be an intimidating arena as Eddie OSullivans Ireland are expected to receive a rapturous homecoming following their stunning win over world champions England last time out, but Mazzucato, 28, believes the Italians have a new-found confidence.

Italy will be looking for a historic double coup as they have never won two RBS 6 Nations games in a single season and have never tasted victory away from Rome.

Victory against Ireland would therefore kill two birds with one stone.

Against the Irish, it is going to be hard, he told www.giornaledibrescia.it. But after the victory at the Flaminio Stadium against the Scots we have more faith in ourselves and one thing is for sure, we will fight like warriors until the last minute.

"We are all very close and analyse every part of every match together. We are not just team-mates, but friends.

It is this team spirit that Giancarlo Dondi, the president of the Italian Rugby Federation, believes will stand the national side in good stead for years to come.

I believe in this team, even if they still lack international experience, he told www.federugby.it.

This is a wonderful group which work very hard and they want go as far possible. I'm certain that if we wait and have faith in them, the players will develop and mature and we will have a fine team.

I want them to challenge a great team like the Irish but we most not get carried away. Hopefully we will play at our peak and the Irish do not repeat their performance at Twickenham against England.

Dondi also spared a moment to pay tribute to veteran forward Carlo Checchinato, who looks set to retire from international rugby at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old has been a member of Italy's set-up for almost 14 years, winning 82 caps and appearing in four World Cups.

This is a moment which should be celebrated, said Dondi.

It is important his young team mates help him to finish his career on a high.

The boys are confident and ready to give it their best shot. I will not accept it if they go on the pitch without a positive attitude. If they have a positive mentality, we can be competitive until the end and maybe come back with an important win.