Dean Budd insists that Italy have no reason to panic after falling to Ireland in their opening World Cup warm-up clash in Dublin.
The Azzurri were beaten 29-10, scoring two first-half tries but allowing Ireland to pull away in the second half.
However they did welcome back Matteo Minozzi, promoted to the starting line-up at the last minute on his long-awaited return from a knee injury.
It was another man who has had to deal with time on the sidelines who opened the scoring, Maxime Mbanda going over from close range, while Carlo Canna scored Italy’s second try from a kick through by Giulio Bisegni.
While they could not add to those scores, stand-in skipper Budd felt there were plenty of positives to be taken from the encounter.
He said: “As a first impression of the game we’re pretty positive. Our discipline wasn’t quite there in those scrums and we paid dearly for that but in terms of a general match-up we’re pretty happy with our performance.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air, truly, to come here to Ireland and play in the rain and cooler weather. So it’s been really nice. Pre-season has been hard and it’s been long so to finally arrive here and play some rugby is a relief for all of us.
“I said before the game that this was a process for us and we won’t worry too much about the results. We’ve got plenty of time to prepare and there are no panic buttons being hit.”
