We produced many waves of attack and it was an open game in terms of the result almost to the end.

The defence withstood a lot of pressure and we prevented Ireland from playing to their strengths, which stopped likes of Brian ODriscoll playing the game they wanted to play.

But I feel a little upset because I feel we deserved to win because of what happened on the pitch.

I think that Italy made a very good start to the tournament but we must make sure this is a base for something bigger and not the end product.

I saw a big improvement and the fact that we brought 3000 over to Dublin and sent them home proud of our performance means a lot.

That said, I feel we made a few small mistakes - we lost a couple of lineouts and one of them led to a try. It was only little things that made the difference in the end.

All the players did well and Sergio Parisse, Mirko Bergamasco, Gonzalo Canale and Ramiro Pez all played very well too - Pez needs to improve a little in defence but he is becoming a mature player and he was great in attack.

I saw some good rugby and the only thing that saddens me is that everyone will remember the result and not that Italy deserved to win.

Regarding our match with England, we all saw the result of the Wales game and we see them as contenders for the 6 Nations.

Its going to be very hard but on the other hand it will be a good test and an opportunity to make another small step.

We have to try and get a result and still play 100 per cent and play with our heads and hearts and see what happens.

Its a chance to show what we did against Ireland is not just a flash in the pan. Scotlands result against France is good for the tournament and showed there are no easy games.