Italian chief confident of Azzurri improvement

Giancarlo Dondi, the president of the Italian Rugby Federation, believes Pierre Berbizier’s men may surprise a few people in this year’s RBS 6 Nations.

The Azzurri picked up the wooden spoon last year and are tipped to do so again in 2006.

But Dondi has backed a squad hit by injury to shine in difficult circumstances.

He said: “We are going to be without a few important players in the Six Nations.

“But I believe in these young players. I firmly believe we are capable of playing a good game of rugby and we are ready to challenge all our opponents.

“I always say it doesn’t matter if we lose games, but each game we play is important.

“We are ready to give our best, fight every other team and make our fans happy.”

He added: “Every game will be hard, no matter if we play against the English or the Scottish.

“We must be competitive in every circumstance, then we will see what can happen.”