Ireland 20-13 Italy: Azzurri captain Michele Lamaro says perception shift ‘means a lot’

When Quesada and Lamaro last led Italy into a match in Dublin, they lost 36-0.

However, on Saturday, the Azzurri faced an Irish side lacking confidence after a bruising defeat by France in Paris last week.

“Obviously we wanted to take advantage of that. We knew if we put them under scoreboard pressure, it would have been very difficult for them.

“I’ve been in that situation before around mindsets. You have to perform and beat the team in front of you but if you’re down after 20, 30 minutes, it can become a real pain in…I don’t say where.

“They have some unbelievable players and they showed how much they care for this group and country. You always expect Ireland to be a world-class team.

“Ups and downs happen to every team in the world. At the moment, they haven’t been what they want to be but I’m pretty sure they have all the abilities to get back.”

Lamaro also ended Italy’s post-match news conference with an unprompted tribute to Hollie Davidson after the Scottish official became the first woman to referee a men’s Six Nations game.

“I just want to congratulate her,” he said.

“She has been doing so much for world rugby and our game and I think it’s an important thing to say.

“I appreciated the work we did together today on the pitch.

“Whatever the decision was, I was backing her and making sure everything was going the right way so I just want to congratulate her and thank her for the effort on the field.”