Time for Italy to shine: Mallett
Nick Mallett believes the time has come for Italy to become a force in the Six Nations Championship.
The new coach of the Azzurri takes over a side that won two games in last year's tournament and nearly reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
And the English-born coach says all the ingredients are there for the team to succeed.
"I go into the Six Nations expecting to win every game," he said on Friday. "I want my team to show courage, determination, heart and pride in every game.
"If we stay close to our opponents late in the game there's no reason why we don't have a chance to win. We will need the support of our fans."
Italy opens its campaign against Ireland on February 2 in Dublin before meeting World Cup finalist England in Rome eight days later.
The clash against Ireland will mark the debut of Stade Francais' Sergio Parisse as captain of the national team having taken over the role from Marco Bortolami.
The Azzurri will have to do without Gloucester lock Bortolami for the opening two games.
Bortolami is unavailable through an eye injury but should return to play against Wales on February 23 at the Millennium Stadium.
Mallett took over from Pierre Berbizier after the World Cup and immediately set about examining the infrastructure of the game in the country.
And he was left in no doubt from his tour of Italian clubs that the country is going about things in the right way.
"From what I have seen so far, I have been very impressed by the coaching in Italy and by the enthusiasm shown by the players," he said.
Meanwhile, Italy Rugby Federation president Giancarlo Dondi is confident that under Mallett, the Azzurri will succeed.
"I am optimistic that we will have a great tournament," said Dondi. "We will only host two games in Italy but I am hoping that the team will show fighting spirit in every game.
"We want to continue to show that we are improving year by year and to be able to compete with the best teams."
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Six Nations
