Pierre Berbiziers men have proved to be no pushovers in recent years and were particularly impressive in this years RBS 6 Nations, despite only picking up a single point thanks to a draw in Wales.

We are going into a massive and important rugby season - our president (Giancarlo Dondi) is expecting a lot from us, Checchinato said.

Our first target is the World Cup qualifiers - against Portugal in Italy, and then away against Russia.

I know we are favourites for both games but we must respect both teams, especially Portugal, who are the European champions in rugby sevens.

Then we face Argentina and Australia - two very tough opponents - in November in Rome, plus Canada, who are making huge progress.

Then, as usual, next February is the RBS 6 Nations. This tournament means a lot to us, so we are trying hard to put together the strongest team ever to confirm the positive things showed in the 2006 edition, and also to show our fans our ambition.

We are really trying to build a squad capable of challenging the strongest teams in the world, but we haven't much time left and we must improve more and work harder than ever to make a big impact.