SIX NATIONS SHORTS

ITALY coach Conor O’Shea claims the performance his Italy side put on against England would have seen them beat a lot of teams. The Azzurri were in touch for most of the game until a late try blitz saw England win 46-15. O’Shea said: ‘If we play like we did against a lot of other teams, not the No 2 team in the world, we would have beaten them. ‘Everyone looked at it and went, “Gee that team’s got proper potential and plays really good rugby”.’

LEINSTER full back Jordan Larmour, 20, could make his Test debut in Ireland’s clash with Italy in Dublin on Saturday. Skills coach Richie Murphy said: ‘Jordan is very close to being ready, he has learned very quickly.’

SCOTLAND centre Peter Horne predicts a backlash from Saturday’s 34-7 calamity in Cardiff when France visit Murrayfield on Sunday. ‘I can’t see us being that bad again,’ he said. ‘We are embarrassed by the result and desperate to put things right.’