PERTH, July 19, (v7n) – Italy captain Michele Lamaro is confident his side can recover from a bruising Nations Championship campaign, but insists they must learn from their mistakes after a gruelling tour in which they conceded 131 points across three Tests.
Italy crashed 27-10 to Japan in Tokyo, were humbled 47-17 by New Zealand in Wellington, and then routed 57-10 by Australia in Perth. They have now lost six of their last seven matches, with their only success coming against England during the Six Nations.
"We had a lot of problems defensively, and in various areas of the pitch we also took too long to find solutions," Lamaro said of the Australia defeat. "Every time they got inside the 22, it became incredibly difficult to defend. We can consider various factors, but the only answers we can find are within ourselves. Unfortunately, we don't have the ability to be competitive. It only takes one time for us to fall slightly short of our standards, especially in terms of physicality, and we pay for that."
Against Australia, Italy made just one clean break while missing 43 tackles and conceding 12 penalties. They were under-strength, with lock Niccolò Cannone suspended and fullback Tommaso Allan and No.8 Lorenzo Cannone returning home early. Star duo Ange Capuozzo and Giacomo Nicotera did not travel after long club seasons in France.
Lamaro noted positive signs from the Six Nations and expressed confidence in the team's ability to rebound: "After being in this group for a few years, I've realised that it's not that difficult for us to bounce back after negative periods. Pride always helps us come up with a response.".
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