Italian hooker sings praises of O’Sullivan’s men

ITALY hooker Fabio Ongaro believes Ireland are the strongest team that the Azzurri will meet in the 2004 Six Nations campaign.

That may seem a strange claim given Italy have already tasted defeat at the hands of world champions England in Rome and unbeaten France in Paris.

However, the Benetton Treviso man believes Eddie O’Sullivan’s side’s stunning victory over England at Twickenham establishes them as the top side, though they were beaten by the French in Paris earlier.