Six Nations: Perennial recipients of the wooden spoon, this year looks to be no different for Italy

The hope for Conor O'Shea and his men is that they can draw some positives from the campaign as they look to move forward in the year ahead

Conor O’Shea has attempted to overhaul Italy's antiquated rugby system (Getty)

It’s been three years now since Italy’s last victory in the Six Nations Championship – a narrow 19-22 win over Scotland at Murrayfield in February 2015. Caught in a seemingly never-ending state of stasis, and faced with three away fixtures in this year’s campaign, it’s likely the Azzurri’s losing run is set to continue.

Not that head coach Conor O’Shea sees it this way. The Irishman has struck an optimistic figure as he’s attempted to overhaul Italy’s antiquated system and old-school culture. With greater emphasis on Italy’s academies, which are now working more closely with the two Pro14 franchises and the national squad, O’Shea is placing more and more faith in the country’s promising youth. As such, at least 15 players in Italy’s initial 34-man squad have yet to play a single Six Nations game.

Although both featured in last year’s campaign, Carlo Canna and Tommaso Castello have come to embody the emerging youthful core in O’Shea’s side. Teammates at Zebre, their link-up play, at fly-half and centre respectively, could help bring some much-needed innovation to Italy’s back line.

Compared to the bamboozling tactics deployed at Twickenham last year – which exposed England’s limited understanding of the ruck – O’Shea’s approach is ultimately long-term in nature. “We are laying the foundations of our building”, forwards coach Gianpiero De Carli said. The Italian hierarchy appreciates the nation’s shortcomings can’t be remedied in the space of a single campaign – it’s a process that takes months or even years.

Expect, then, plenty of spirit and fight from the Italians but no real end-product. Hosting Scotland would usually be seen as an opportunity for the Italians to avoid a straight whitewash, but in light of the Scots' form throughout 2017, it’s a contest which is surely set to end in defeat.

Anything other than five losses from five games will mark a notable achievement for O’Shea and his men. But given their performances in 2017 – they finished the year with defeats by South Africa and Argentina but managed a 19-10 victory against Fiji – it’s hard to see where the Italians will be able to record a precious win in this year's Championship. Perennial recipients of the wooden spoon, this year looks to be no different. The hope is that in defeat Italy can draw some positives from the campaign as they look to move forward in the year ahead.