(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 6 - Captain Michele Lamaro said Italy are confident of making more progress after pushing Six Nations champions France hard before going down to 29-24 defeat in their opening match of the tournament in Rome on Sunday.
    "The bitterness is always the same after you lose. It doesn't matter if it's by a small margin or a big one," the open-side flanker said.
    "We put ourselves into trouble on some occasions. We can make another step forward.
    "Our attitude was very good. In the past at 19-6 down, we would have let the match get away from us.
    "We have a lot of belief in what we have built".
    The Azzurri face England, the only Six Nations team they have never beaten, at Twickenham next weekend. (ANSA).