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Italy Coach Insists his Team Must Remain “Humble” and Not Take Victory for Granted Against Wales

Italy's players celebrate their victory over England. Pic. Alamy

Italy's players celebrate their victory over England. Pic. Alamy

Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada insists his side must remain humble and cannot take victory over winless Wales for granted this weekend.

Quesada guided his team to an historic Six Nations Championship victory over England at the weekend, but has warned that a big test awaits against Wales before they can claim three victories in a tournament for the first time.

Bookmakers DragonBet make Italy clear favourites for the match at 4/7, with Wales priced at 7/4.

Italy created one of the tournament’s biggest ever shocks by defeating England 23-18 at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, finally ending a sequence of 32 consecutive defeats against the Red Rose since joining the Six Nations in 2000. 

READ MORE: Steve Tandy Tastes Defeat Again But Wales' Progress Sweetens the Medicine

The result completed a long-awaited milestone for the Azzurri, who had previously beaten every other nation in the competition but had never managed to overcome England.

Despite the magnitude of the achievement, Quesada made it clear his squad will not allow complacency to set in before they visit Cardiff where Wales have not win the tournament for four years.

"We beat a great team and we did it working in silence," said Quesada.

"We have to stay humble and keep working this way: in silence.

"Now we have to prepare for a massive challenge in Cardiff against a Wales side that did very well against Ireland."

READ MORE: Wales Aim for Progress and Hope it Might Somehow be Enough to Overcome Ireland

The victory in Rome came after Italy produced a determined comeback against opponents expected to be too stron despite their defeats to Scotland and Ireland.

Instead, Italy produced one of their most impressive performances in recent years. 

Discipline began to unravel for England as Sam Underhill and Maro Itoje were also sent to the sin-bin, allowing Italy to seize momentum and take control of the closing stages.

Midfielders Tommaso Menoncello and Leonardo Marin both crossed for tries, while fly-half Paolo Garbisi delivered a flawless display from the tee to guide his team to victory.

The performance completed a moment many Italian supporters had been dreaming about throughout the week.

"We dreamed about this moment all week long, we dreamed about making history and we did it," said Menoncello.

"There was a moment of confusion around the 50th minute (with Nicotera's card) but we managed to convert every opportunity in the most difficult moment thanks to Paolo's perfect kicking."

Italy’s triumph was made even more meaningful by the involvement of former stars who helped inspire the squad in the days leading up to the game.

"This week (former prop) Martin Castrogiovanni came along and prepared a barbecue, and (former fly-half) Diego Dominguez came to hand out the matchday jerseys," said Quesada.

"I wanted him to do it because I knew that it could be a grand occasion."

Yet the Italian coach insists the real significance of the result will only be measured by what his players do next. 

With one round remaining in the championship, Italy still have the opportunity to create further history.

Victory in Cardiff would mark the first time Italy have won three matches in a single Six Nations campaign and could even lift them to their highest-ever finishing position of third place.

Standing in their way will be a Wales team that has shown clear signs of improvement in recent weeks.

Wales began the championship with chaotic defeats against England and France, conceding more than 100 points across those two matches. 

But performances have improved considerably since then, pushing both Scotland and Ireland close before ultimately suffering narrow defeats.

"It's not over yet, we've got another really tough challenge in Wales and we know that we have to work even harder to be ready for next week's match," said Menoncello.

 

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