Battling performances in the home defeats by Ireland and Wales have given the Azzuri hope they can avoid the wooden spoon for a third consecutive season, after becoming a much-improved side under the stewardship of former All-Black John Kirwan.

De Marigny has targeted the February 26 clash with Scotland at Murrayfield as the game his side are most likely to triumph in, despite Italy never having won a Six Nations game on the road.

We have certainly improved after the last World Cup, our coaching staff are doing a great job and we really deserve at least one win in the Six Nations, De Marigny said.

The game at Murrayfield is very important for us in every respect. We are going to Scotland with the intention of dominating the game.

I believe if we play like we did against the Irish and cut out the mistakes, then we are going to come back very happy and, of course, with a first away win in the tournament.

However, we have to avoid a performance like the one in the second half against the Welsh, even if they did play well and deserved to win.