Wins over Scotland and Wales saw the Azzurri finish fourth in the recent RBS 6 Nations - their highest position since joining the competition in 2000.

Italy are now preparing to face New Zealand, Romania, Scotland and Portugal in the World Cup group stage, and Bollesan admits confidence is high as the countdown begins to the tournament, which gets underway in September.

He said: Im sure we are going to play our best rugby in France this September, although we know it will be very difficult for us.

Certainly the first game against the All Blacks is impossible, but it is better to meet them in first game than later on.

Romania and Portugal are beatable, but we must be careful when we meet them, especially the Romanians as they are capable of playing good rugby and they have a few experienced players in their ranks.

'But to get a famous qualification to the quarter-finals, we must be sure to beat the Scottish again as we did in the Six Nations.

Our players know how important it will be to play at their best in the World Cup, and after the exploits in the Six Nations, all the big teams show more respect for us than ever.

But we still need to work very hard and keep our feet on the ground.