Conor O’Shea believes it’s only a matter of a time before his Italy team get the luck they deserve.
Warren Gatland’s Wales side equalled their record run of 11 successive Test wins with a hard-fought victory over O’Shea’s team in Rome.
Braam Steyn and Edoardo Padovani both scored tries for the hosts and there were certainly points left on the field, when the full-time whistle blew for a 26-15 Welsh victory.
“We aren’t giving up, we’re excited about the future of this team,” said O’Shea.
“We are disappointed but if we continue to work, I believe we are going to overturn that difference with the others. I don’t think the difference is so marked, we’ve lost another battle but we are still in the war.”
Italy were only five points behind at the break but O’Shea didn’t get the response he had demanded at half-time.
“We had an opportunity but we lacked the right energy and you can’t do that against a team like Wales,” added O’Shea.
Meanwhile, Italian captain Sergio Parisse insisted there was some honour in the defeat against a team who were ranked third in the world before the start of the Guinness Six Nations – and were looking for their own bit of history.
“You can never be happy after a defeat but there were many good things in this match,” said the Stade Français No.8.
“We came back into the changing room knowing we’d given them a battle, they are one of the best teams in the world.
“We got to within two points after the break and that was our chance. We should have pressed them, so there is obviously bitterness. But we fought right until the end.”
