New Italy coach Nick Mallett says a tough itinerary and several team changes make it unlikely his team will repeat last year's Six Nations performance when they won two games for the first time.
"That's very difficult. We've got three games away and only two at home," Mallett told reporters on Friday.
"If you're realistic and you look at the games they won last year, you'll never see a game like Scotland again, where Italy scored three interception tries in the first five minutes.
"That was a freakish result, even though they deserved to win in the end."
The former Springboks coach said it would take time for the Italians to adjust to the loss of retired scrumhalf Alessandro Troncon and to the changes he was making.
Complete article