Italy mauled Scotland 37-17 to register their first away win in the championship since joining in 2000.

They also succeeded in making England look average in a creditable 20-7 defeat at Twickenham, banishing memories of their dismal Six Nations opener against France in the process.

OSullivan believes coach Pierre Berbiziers success in persuading veteran scrum-half Alessandro Troncon to come out of retirement has been a masterstroke.

And the Ireland boss is aware the Azzurri will be ready to end his sides title pretensions once and for all if they are not given sufficient respect at the Stadio Flaminio on March 17.

I havent seen a game like Italys one against Scotland - it was worse than us in Paris last year, he said.

They gave away three tries so early and that was catastrophic, the worst possible start.

They might have won the game had they not given Italy that start but Pierre Berbizier knows what Italy are about. He has got them ticking the right way.

He has brought back Alessandro Troncon who has been the heartbeat of the team. Italy are such a dangerous side.

We go to Rome for the our last game and it will be a humdinger. Theyre such a physical team and they hang onto the ball for so long.

Theyre aggressive in defence and can cause problems.