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Parisse: Twickenham loss fired Italy heroics
OVERJOYED Italy captain Sergio Parisse has revealed the pain of a crushing defeat to England was the inspiration behind their landmark RBS 6 Nations triumph over France on Saturday.
Italy bravely fought back from 12 points behind to win 22-21 in Rome and achieve arguably their greatest ever result in the competition. And Parisse admitted the sheer desire they displayed was forged in the thrashing they received at Twickenham last month.
“Our home defeats against Ireland and Wales were disappointing,” said Parisse, who plays his club rugby in Paris with Stade Francais.
“But it was our heavy loss to England that gave us an extra motivation to show that we are a better team than our performance at Twickenham suggested.”