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Parisse determined to keep on battling

INPHO
Italy captain Sergio Parisse has vowed to keep on fighting as he looks to lead the Azzurri to a first win in this year’s NatWest 6 Nations.

Italy captain Sergio Parisse has vowed to keep on fighting as he looks to lead the Azzurri to a first win in this year’s NatWest 6 Nations.

The Italians have played plenty of exciting rugby during this year’s Championship but have lost each of their opening three matches.

Click here for the full list of 2018 NatWest 6 Nations fixtures

A 46-15 defeat to England in Rome came on the opening weekend before they went down 56-19 to current table-toppers Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Round 2 and then lost to France 34-17 in Marseille on Friday night.

But skipper Parisse, who won his 132nd international cap against Les Bleus, has taken to Instagram and promised the fans that he will never give up.

The No.8 posted a picture of himself in an Italy jersey and wrote an accompanying post, which translates to: “When the road is hard and impossible for everyone… you can give up or go on… For me the first will NEVER, never exist.”

Italy travelled to Marseille on Friday night to take on France at the iconic Orange Stade Vélodrome – the first time Les Bleus have played a home Championship game outside Paris.

An early penalty try meant the Azzurri only trailed 11-7 at the break but a fine half-break and offload from the returning Mathieu Bastareaud to send Hugo Bonneval away on the hour mark put the hosts clear.

Matteo Minozzi did grab a late consolation score for Italy but they must now either beat Wales in Cardiff in Round 4 or Scotland at the Stadio Olimpico in Round 5 to avoid ending up winless for a third consecutive Championship.

And despite the 34-17 reverse, Parisse said after the game that he believes there are positives to be taken from the display in the south of France.

“It was a tough game for us, the performance was not too bad,” he explained. “We played a France team with a lot of pressure on them but we managed to keep the pressure on them in the first half.

“In the second half they scored and gained a bit of confidence to play a bit more.

“I think our defence was much better than in the first two games so we can keep working.

“It is difficult when you lose but we have two more games to work and possibly get a win in this Championship.”