Azzurri take inspiration from U20 win over England

REACTION: Michele Lamaro said Italy should be inspired by their Under-20 team’s historic win over England as the senior team await the Six Nations visit of the 2019 World Cup finalists.

Italy skipper Lamaro said the under-20s 6-0 victory in Treviso on Friday, their first ever Six Nations win over England, should serve as an example for Kieran Crowley’s men to try and repeat that in Rome on Sunday.

“They played with a lot of courage and intensity, for guys of their age it’s really impressive. We need to be inspired by that and take it out onto the pitch with us,” Lamaro told reporters.

“I can’t say it will have an influence on our match, but it gave us a big boost.”

Italy are on a record run of 33 straight defeats in the Six Nations but Crowley’s young side showed some promise during their opening 37-10 loss in France last weekend.

“I think that the level of courage and intensity on the pitch at the Stade de France was of an international standard,” said Benetton flanker Lamaro.

“One of the issues over recent years has been finding a solution in one match and then having it dissolve in the next one.

“That’s the key for us in this Six Nations. We started on the right foot, even if there’s still lots to improve.”

England comes into Sunday’s match at the Stadio Olimpico with a raft of injuries — stalwarts Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes the major absentees — and on the back of a painful 20-17 defeat to Scotland in Edinburgh.

However, Lamaro doesn’t think England will travel to the Italian capital in a particularly vulnerable state after a loss that was largely self-inflicted.

“England are England. They have a really big pool of players to choose from… So I don’t think that the absences are a particular disadvantage for them,” said the 23-year-old.

“The result against Scotland was a problem for them but they played very well, what we always say is to focus on ourselves and what we can control.

“Our opponents will go out onto the pitch wanting to put in a good performance and we have to do the same. We’re not going to linger on what England’s problems are, but try to exploit them in our favour.”