Mauro Bergamasco has claimed that his Twickenham debacle is well and truly behind him as the Six Nations minnows prepare for their encounter with England at the Stadio Flaminio today.
Bergamasco, a flanker, suffered a humiliating experience in last season's Six Nations opener when Nick Mallett, the Italy coach, picked him to play at scrum-half.
The move was calamitous and Bergamasco was at fault for all three of England's first-half tries that rendered the second half, by which time he had been replaced, little more than a procession.
But the Stade Francais back-row forward insists he has not let that performance affect him.
"What happened last year was just a professional blip," he said.
"It's not something that's going to condition everything else a player has done in his career.
"Those who know rugby know what I'm about and one match cannot erase a player's professionalism or ability, so I'm not worried about it. Obviously playing in my best position allows me to give my best to the team, but whatever position I'm asked to play in, I'll do my best, although it can always happen that you make mistakes or don't play your best."
With the exception of last year's horror show, Italy's recent performances against the 2003 World Champions suggests they may be edging closer to recording a first win against England, narrowly losing out last time at home 23-19.
England have won all of the 15 previous clashes but the Azzurri came as close as ever the last time they met in Rome, losing 23-19. Italy lost their opening match last week in Dublin 29-11 to Ireland - their 14th reverse in their last 15 matches - but Bergamasco said his side are still growing as a team.
"To evolve you have to play against better teams and for Italy it's not difficult in world rugby to find better teams," he said.
History suggests England can go into the game with confidence and Martin Johnson, their coach, believes his team should come away from Rome with the points. His side will be looking to build on last weekend's 30-17 defeat of Wales at Twickenham as they bid to win a first Six Nations title for the first time since 2003.
"We should know that if we perform we can beat any team in the competition and we can also lose if we don't perform," he said.
"Attitude when we take the field away from home is a key factor. Do we expect to win? Of course that's what we want to do, but there is a process to go through.
"There is potentially an issue after a win of euphoria and getting carried away with yourself, but the mark of a good side is backing up a good performance and victory."
Johnson warned his players that England will only start growing into a force to be reckoned with if they start stringing performances together.
* With agencies
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
LAST-16 FIXTURES
Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”