Ireland 10 Italy 13

Alessandro Troncon claimed that Italy are leaving the 2007 RBS 6 Nations with heads held high despite today’s 51-24 defeat against Ireland in the final match in Rome.

GARETH THOMAS will captain Wales in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash with England after Stephen Jones was forced to pull out with a fractured bone in his wrist.

MAKE no mistake about it, even though his replacement, Mick O’Driscoll, is a hell of a player, the loss of Paul O’Connell to the Irish second-row against Italy on Saturday is colossal.

ITALY captain Marco Bortolami has admitted he feared the Azzurri might throw away their chance to make history in the RBS 6 Nations Championship against Scotland.

Alessandro Troncon is making the most of his return to the Italian national team following an absence of almost two years.

A LOT has been made of Bernard Laporte’s insistence on experimentation for this year’s RBS 6 Nations Championship, but it will be interesting to see if France’s head coach sticks to his word following the comprehensive opening day rout of beleaguered Italy.

Treviso 26 Ulster 43

Alessandro Troncon is the only household name in the Benetton Treviso side to play Ulster at Ravenhill on Friday night.

Veteran scrum-half Alessandro Troncon has urged his Italy team-mates to put their mauling at the hands of France behind them and instead dedicate their time to closing the gap on the leading teams.

England 39 Italy 7

SCOTLAND forward Simon Taylor was pleased with his side’s opening RBS Six Nations victory - despite a disappointing overall performance.

Wales are facing another testing examination of their RBS 6 Nations title credentials today at the Stadio Flaminio, mindful of the humiliation that haunted their last trip to Rome.

Alessandro Troncon will extend his record as the most capped player when Italy host Wales in Saturday’s RBS 6 Nations clash at the Flaminio stadium.

Italy veteran Alessandro Troncon has backed Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel to claim a place on the Lions tour to New Zealand.

ON this occasion, no news is not necessarily good news. The extent of Brian O’Driscoll and Gordon D’Arcy’s hamstring injuries will not be made public until today’s team announcement for Saturday’s trip to Scotland, but the indications are not positive.

Italy coach John Kirwan is delighted his players competed on equal terms with Ireland yesterday – but warned the good work must continue.

THE Eternal City was at its picture postcard best in yesterday’s glorious sunshine and with more of the same expected for the weekend, conditions should be perfect for Ireland’s Six Nations opener against Italy in the Stadio Flaminio tomorrow.

Italy coach John Kirwan has revealed that injuries and illnesses have hampered his squad’s preparations for their RBS 6 Nations opener against Ireland.

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A doubt over the fitness of Paul Griffen means former captain Alessandro Troncon has been preferred at scrum-half for Italy’s opening RBS 6 Nations clash with Ireland in Rome on Sunday.

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ITALY are convinced their cosmopolitan team can make things difficult for world champions England at the Stadio Flaminio tomorrow.

Italy have vowed to give England a baptism of fire in their first competitive match as world champions when the RBS 6 Nations tournament kicks off this weekend.

Italy have named flanker Andrea De Rossi as their new skipper for the RBS 6 Nations Championship.

Munster 51 Treviso 0

Wily Australian Alan Gaffney was hardly turning cartwheels under the je black Limerick sky after his side’s 51-0 demolition of lowly Benetton Treviso, but afforded himself a smile of satisfaction in the aftermath.

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BENETTON TREVISO coach Craig Green, smiled quietly as he studied the plaque in Thomond Park that commemorates Munster’s famous victory over the 1978 All Blacks.

With few expecting Wales to emerge with anything from their final pool game against New Zealand next weekend, this was it – a showdown with Italy for a place in the last eight of the World Cup.

Italy coach John Kirwan claimed the World Cup had been made “unfair” by an imbalanced draw that will favour Wales in Saturday’s crunch Pool D clash.

Italy 19 Canada 14

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Italy captain Alessandro Troncon was delighted his side had buried the memories of their 1999 World Cup defeat to Tonga with a rousing victory in Canberra on Wednesday.

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