March 12 (Reuters) - Italy are no longer content with being Six Nations underdogs and reflecting on their landmark win over England last weekend, wing Louis Lynagh believes they can soon win the championship.
Saturday's 23-18 win in Rome was Italy's first-ever over England. They had beaten every other Six Nations side since joining the competition in 2000 except the English.
Italy also beat Scotland this year in their opening game, a side that can still win the title on the final day, and Lynagh sees no reason why his side cannot be in that position too.
They visit bottom team Wales on Saturday in their final game of this year's edition sitting fourth with nine points and could win three games in a single championship for the first time.
"A lot of our guys believe it," Lynagh told Reuters.
"I feel this team can win the Six Nations, whether it's next year or the year after or at some point. We're no longer just a one-off. On our day, we can beat almost any team in the world.
"It's kind of set a benchmark for ourselves. We're here to win games and we're here to really make a mark on every game."
A clear sign of how just much has changed is Italy beating England despite putting in probably their worst performance of the campaign.
"When we're not playing to the best of our abilities and some things don't work, we can still manage to grind out a win, that's the sign of a really good team," Lynagh said.
"And on the day things start clicking for us, I reckon we're going to be winning games by 30, 40 points."
BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
Lynagh was born in Treviso to an Italian mother while his father, former Australia flyhalf Michael Lynagh, was playing for Benetton. He grew up in London and was eligible to play for Italy, Australia and England.
The 25-year-old played from under-16 level through the age groups for England and trained with the senior squad without earning a cap. When Benetton Treviso came calling two years ago, his Italy career quickly followed.
"I signed the contract, and two days later I got called into the Italy squad," Lynagh said. "I was fortunate enough to have the chance to play for three nations and Italy happened to be the one that life chose.
"When I go back to Treviso after the Wales game I'll be going back to the house where my granddad lives, the same house we've been going on holiday to since I was a kid.
"I couldn't be happier to be where I am and be part of this amazing group and project that's making waves in rugby right now."
Michael Lynagh broke Irish hearts at the 1991 World Cup, scoring a late try in Dublin to beat Ireland in the quarter-finals, and last month Louis discovered just how long his father's legacy lasts when he arrived to play against Ireland.
"At Dublin Airport, I went to passport control," Lynagh said. "Before the guy even opened my passport, he went 'Alright Mr Lynagh, say hi to your dad for me - I still haven't forgiven him for '91.'"
MORE HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Italy are not about to rest on their laurels going into Saturday's final game in Cardiff. Wales may be without a win but Lynagh believes they have improved throughout the tournament.
"We've had this massive high of beating England, but it would put a massive downer on that if we then go and lose to Wales," he added.
"We want to create further history by being the first Italian side that wins three games in a Six Nations. We've still got a lot of room to grow and I'm really excited for what this team can do in the future."
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes; Editing by Ken Ferris)
