Italy head coach Jacques Brunel praised his side's character and desire to fight for the result in their loss against England.
The Azzurri produced an exhilarating second half performance to leave the home crowd nervously checking the clock as Italy hunted for their first ever victory over England, before ultimately falling short.
"They were two very different halves. We defended well when England had a lot of possession and we nearly scored a try in the first half," said Brunel.
"In the second we showed character and that we wanted to fight, but England were better disciplined than we were.
"What changed from two weeks ago was we were better physically and we were fresher - we were not fresh enough against Wales.
"Up until Wednesday we tried to work less, so that we were fresher towards the end of the match and it paid off.
"We are still looking for the balance between attack and defence - we played well in the second half but there were still issues with the lineout. It's about the quality of our game, and we need to manage the balance better.
"We are on the right path, but we have to work on the way we impose our game. There's always something to fix from one game to the next but we are going in the right direction."
Italy hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini stated that his side need to adapt better when expected to produce results, after again impressing when being labelled as underdogs coming into Sunday's match.
"Sometimes we put ourselves under pressure, but we need to keep believing in our game and be confident. We need to be cautious of the fact that we can make things difficult for other sides and win matches," said Ghiraldini.
By Ben Coles
@bencoles_
Comments
j615 says...
I think Italy in the second half against England and in the whole match against France played the best that any side has managed in this years championship. Their backs looked dangerous and they competed in all aspects of the game. Its just a shame they can't play consistently well. Masi, Zanni and Parisse I think would get in any every other team this year. Orquera, you could argue has been the stand out fly-half with ball in hand of the championship. I never thought I'd write that sentence! I never thought I'd see Luke Mclean making line breaks for fun against England either. Fair play to him and to Brunel but Italy must beat Ireland. They won't get a better chance.
Posted 23:09 11th March 2013
Lucasrg says...
My team against Ireland:
1 - De Marchi
2 - Ghiraldini
3 - Cittadini
4 - Galdenhuys
5 - Furno
6 - Zanni
7 - Favaro
8 - Parisse
9 - Gori
10 -Orquera/Di Bernardo
11 - Benvenuti
12 - Garcia
13 - Masi
14 - Venditti/Nitoglia if ever...
15 - McLean
Posted 15:52 11th March 2013
jontheref says...
Well done Italy, I thought you might just have snuck a draw, when you may have got a deserved win.
Posted 14:28 11th March 2013
carpelone says...
Italy never delivered two strong performance in a row. That is their challenge now. I dare to say that smart money are on Ireland for the next game.
I would start Botes ahead of Gori, maybe Lo Cicero, but I would retain the bulk of the team. Giazzon as replacement hooker left wanting, again.
Posted 09:15 11th March 2013
kybone says...
Italy really are a very very good side when they play like they have against France and England. I have to say that Burton should never overtake Orquera for the 10 spot ever again. With Burton at 10 Italy are a team that tries to lose by a small margin, with Orquera at 10 Italy are a team that can beat almost anyone. Its time now get rid of Burton and bring in whoever is the best young fly-half in Italy as Orquera's understudy. Italy should hold their heads high and walk with confidence into their next game because they have the ability to play with ball in hand and take teams on. If they keep going, then the 2015 World Cup could be a special occasion for Italy.
Posted 09:03 11th March 2013
melkdave says...
Italy back to their best against England ,i just hope they can play as good against Ireland,next week.Said in the week ,that anyone taking Italy for granted will be surprised,and England very nearly where.If only Italy had played like this against Wales and Scotland,they would have been looking at more than one victory ,coming into this match.Again well done Italy,and i really do hope they play like this next week.Ireland beware
Posted 01:55 11th March 2013
NHSaints says...
I hope they completely rip Ireland up in Rome, it's been a while coming and they deserve no less than 2 wins after the way they've played this year...
Posted 22:18 10th March 2013
Lucasrg says...
Well done Brunel, I was a strong advocate for keeping Mallett in Italy, but I'm delighted to be proved wrong. This is a very promising side that now can bring a major x factor into the 6 Nations...with few interisting young players on the horizon, the future seems bright.
Posted 21:23 10th March 2013
papachinzo says...
I have nothing but admiration for them, I hope they trash Ireland next week in Rome.
Something they deserve, and has long awaited Ireland.
Posted 18:54 10th March 2013