Dondi has described the last 12 months as a year of transition for the Azzurri, with John Kirwan being replaced by Pierre Berbizier in the coaching hotseat and success and failure coming in equal measure over the course of the year.

Another rock-bottom finish in the RBS 6 Nations, their fifth in six years since entering the competition, was the final straw for the FIR with regards to New Zealander Kirwan.

Dondi admits the defeat to Scotland in a match rightly billed as the wooden spoon decider was the biggest disappointment.

It has been a year of transition, he said.

We wanted more for ourselves from the Six Nations, particularly from the game in Edinburgh against Scotland.

But we tossed away the possibility of a first away win in the Six Nations.

Frenchman Berbizier took charge in time for the summer tour of Argentina, and although Italy were beaten 35-21 in his first match, they followed up with a dramatic 30-29 win that was arguably the Azzurris best away win since beating France 40-32 in 1997.

Italy finished the year on a high with a 23-8 win over Fiji but suffered a home defeat by Argentina in the final match of the series.

Dondi was disappointed Italy could not clinch a series win against their closest rivals on the international stage.

We found ourselves confronting a change on the bench from Kirwan to Berbizier, he added.

But then we got results like the victory in Cordoba against Argentina and the success in Monza against Fiji, two sides ahead of us in the rankings.

I was pleased with the team spirit by the squad that beat Fiji, but Ive not forgotten my disappointment for the defeat against Argentina the previous week.

The Pumas are opponents on our level, we had seen it in the summer in Cordoba, so for that reason I maintain that Genoa was a big opportunity missed.