| Italy have played three and lost three so far this year, but have pushed Ireland, England and France close leading each of those matches before eventually finding themselves on the wrong side of the final result. Their style of play, with an exceptionally powerful pack, has earned them many plaudits, and fostered a sense of self confidence within the squad.
“We can beat them (Wales) on Saturday if we are on top of our game,” Parrisse told PA Sport. “We can win if we play at our best and it would be nice if we could take home a win to stop the run of honourable defeats.”
A debatable refereeing decision proved to be the difference in their opening game against Ireland, which finished 26-16, while they posed England many problems before finally cracking in a 31-16 loss.
They looked as though they were going to provide the shock of the tournament when they took a 12-8 half-time lead over France in Paris a fortnight ago, but Les Bleus launched a revival in the second half and ended up comfortable 37-12 winners.
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