Italy are going to surprise a few people in the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations – according to captain Sergio Parisse.
Parisse and Azzurri head coach Conor O’Shea were both in attendance on Wednesday at the official launch of the Championship at Syon House in London.
Italy finished winless in last year’s edition, but led both Wales and England at half-time in impressive showings that hinted at more to come.
And after an improved first half of the season for both Zebre and Benetton in club rugby, Parisse is feeling confident.
Click here for the complete 2018 NatWest 6 Nations fixture list
“We have to look at our performance but we want to win every game we play. We’ll talk about now and about playing to our maximum now,” he said.
“Our job is to play our best and you never know – it was 17-15 against England (last year) and a moment changed that match.
“As long as we’re improving and we’re getting opportunities we need to start turning them into wins.
O’Shea’s Italy downed Fiji in November but then slipped to defeats to both Argentina and South Africa.
But the head coach is adamant that his side have made huge strides.
“We have to perform to our best and keep improving and if we do that everything will take care of itself, you’ll judge me on results and I know that.”
“There are different levels, we want to take, I think we’ve got an incredibly good foundation to our game now,” he added.
“We’ll take selections in risk and style but you have to realise the defences you’re playing against.
“I think we’ve got the mentality that comes from Sergio, when you’re competing at franchise level it filters up they go out there with a different belief.
“We know we’ve made massive progress in Italy in the last 12 months.”
And there are a number of new faces – Gloucester flanker Jake Polledri included – that have caught Parisse’s eye.
“Giovanni Licata, Renato Giammarioli, these guys have a lot of talent, there’s a lot of players with talent, they are young and they don’t have too much experience.
“They are playing quite well and they have talent, they have an opportunity and a challenge in the NatWest 6 Nations and my challenge is to give them the best environment possible with the national team.
“We really want to play a great first game against England.”
Italy’s first NatWest 6 Nations fixture of 2018 sees them take on England on Sunday 4th February, 3:00pm at the Stadio Olimpico.
What are Italy’s 2018 NatWest 6 Nations fixtures?
Italy v England, Sun 4 Feb 2018, 3:00pm Ireland v Italy, Sat 10 Feb 2018, 2:15pm France v Italy, Fri 23 Feb 2018, 8:00pm Wales v Italy, Sun 11 Mar 2018, 3:00pm Italy v Scotland, Sat 17 Mar 2018, 12:30pm
Visit our NatWest 6 Nations fixtures 2018 section find out full fixture details including dates, kick-off times and TV details.
