Sergio Parisse admits Italy need another 'miracle' to beat Ireland
Friday 10 February 2017 13:50, UK
Sergio Parisse admits Italy will need another "miracle" rivalling November's South Africa triumph to topple Ireland.
Italy, under the stewardship of Conor O'Shea, edged out the Springboks 20-18 in the autumn before slumping to a 33-7 home loss to Wales in their opening Six Nations game.
Parisse admitted they will have to make the most of every opportunity if they are to record a surprise against Ireland.
"Beating South Africa with the system we have in the country at the moment was a miracle, but it was possible because of the commitment of the players and the staff who believe in us," said Parisse.
"Personally I think Ireland are better than Wales, so it's going to be extremely difficult. Conor's most important challenge is to change our mentality.
"Zebre and Treviso play in a very negative environment, losing often. The attitude changes when you have criticism every week and no wins. It's human nature that you start believing you're not good enough.
"It's difficult to expect a winning mentality from those players but Conor is so positive.
"Ireland are the only team in the Six Nations which is extremely adaptable depending on the opponent.
"We know Ireland will want to keep the ball in play and try to score more than four tries. We know the size of the challenge."
Parisse's win record stands at 27 per cent for his 122 caps, as opposed to 57 per cent for his Ireland counterpart Rory Best from his 101 Test appearances.
"I don't know how long I will keep playing, maybe one, two, three years," he said.
"While I'm fit and my performances are good and I'm mentally fresh though, I definitely want to keep playing. Physically I'm feeling good but you never know how long it will be.
"But as soon as I'm not fit enough and my performance is poor, I think I'll automatically be out of the team."
