The Azzurri crashed to their 10th straight RBS 6 Nations defeat when they surrendered a 12-8 half-time lead to lose 37-12 to the French on Saturday.

With games against last seasons Grand Slam champions Wales and this years surprise package Scotland to come, the Italians are once again favourites to claim the wooden spoon.

But Ongaro believes his side can come back a stronger force if they are willing to learn from the mistakes made at the Stade de France.

It is important for us to avoid the wooden spoon, the 28-year-old said.

We must remember what happened in France and make sure it doesnt happen again. It is important we dont make the same mistakes we made in the second half.

We only have two games left and if we want to get any points from them, we will really need to play some cracking rugby.

Wales defence of their title has been far from convincing and they have suffered heavy defeats to England (47-13) and Ireland (31-5) in their two away games.

They beat Scotland in their only home clash, however, and will be looking to regain some pride against Italy in Cardiff following their abject display at Lansdowne Road.

The Scots, meanwhile, are riding the crest of a wave after victories over heavyweights England and France, and look to have gained some inner steel under new coach Frank Hadden.

Ongaro knows the odds are stacked against the Azzurri but is not discounting a triumphant end to their RBS 6 Nations campaign.

We are going to play in Cardiff against a team who won the Grand Slam last year and they are still hurting after the defeat in Ireland last weekend, he added.

And the Scots have put in some wonderful defensive displays in this years Six Nations.

But we must believe in ourselves and believe we can beat them. It will be a very hard task for us but a win will be a great thing to show our fans.