Ghiraldini admits Italy need to pick up results quickly

Italy find themselves in a tricky situation where they need time to give their young players experience but face urgency to get results according to former skipper Leonardo Ghiraldini. The Azzurri,who will aim to win a first Guinness Six Nations encounter since 2015 when they take on Scotland in Rome on Saturday,have the youngest side in the 2022 Championship,led by 23-year-old flanker Michele Lamaro. Ad/> He was one of 23 Benetton players named in Italy's initial squad,and for Ghiraldini,who won 107 caps for Italy,it is at club level where the changes need to start,even if he was impressed by the spirit shown by the team in defeat in Ireland when they were forced to play with 13 men for an hour.

RugbyGhiraldini excited to join centurions in Rome19 HOURS AGO He explained: «It's not easy to judge the team at the moment. Italy have a really young team. We saw the effort and the passion they had in the Ireland game,even though it was so hard and difficult,it was unbelievable.

»It's not enough,I know that and they know that. But at the same time,it's clear that the team is really young and they just have five,six or seven games under their belts with the national team. «They need more experience with the clubs.

Some of them started playing with the national team before playing with their clubs which is crazy. It's not their fault,they have get the experience at the clubs before going with the national team. »That is why sometimes it is tough.

When you play at international level,it's a completely different level to the URC or the Challenge or Champions Cup. «If you just have two professional clubs from which you can take players,the number of players you have is so limited compared to Ireland,for example. That's not even