ITALY’S improved mental strength and fitness under head coach Conor O’Shea will ensure they can go toe-to-toe for 80 minutes against England in next Sunday’s Six Nations opener, insists retired Azzurri centre Andrea Masi.
O’Shea’s men will head into the Rome cash as heavy underdogs after a disastrous 2017 in which they lost ten of 11 matches – a lone 19-10 victory over Fiji in November being the only bright spot.
However, Masi does not believe recent results paint the true picture, telling The Rugby Paper: “It’s a very exciting time for Italy ...