Six Nations: Italy and Wales battle in Rome for respect

Lamaro was also unhappy the last time Italy faced Wales – in Cardiff – at what he felt was a lack of respect shown to his team by the Welsh Rugby Union.

In a newspaper interview, he complained of “several small, unpleasant situations unworthy of a host country” around the warm-up and players’ families.

Both unions rushed to smooth the waters after the column appeared, but the feeling of being slighted remains.

“It’s always difficult to say if we have respect of other nations,” Lamaro said on Friday.

“I think the way teams prepare for our games has changed but I’m pretty sure in the back of their minds, they think Italian rugby is still not at the same level as theirs.

“We can use that as motivation and have 80 minutes to get credibility and respect back. Saying that, I’m not sure it’s ever been there.

“Yes, teams fear us on a one-off occasion but respect is different against countries with such big rugby traditions and cultures.”