Captain taking it one step at a time

Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll is adamant he and his side will not be take anything for granted in the Six Nations after their failure to perform in the World Cup in France.

The Leinster centre is focused solely on getting a win against Italy in Croke Park tomorrow before looking ahead to games against the more established sides in the tournament.

At 29, O'Driscoll is nearing the end of his career and he admitted this week that below-par performances are becoming more difficult to stomach as each season passes.

Despite being one of the best players of his generation and leading arguably Ireland's most talented ever side, he has yet to win a Six Nations.

"I have been asked all week and last week too about other games and where we feel our goals should be for this championship and in all honesty I haven't given any thought to any other game other than Italy," he said after his captain's run in Croke Park today.

"Perhaps we made the error of looking beyond our games in the World Cup so we're not going to fall and make that mistake again. Our sole focus is about tomorrow afternoon and I will be happy to answer questions about France and subsequent games after that."

A win tomorrow is paramount, says the captain, and he and his side will take it no matter how it is achieved.

"Winning is very important obviously, it would be nice to get a bit of continuity back into our game, the way we know we can play.

"If you wanted to give us a dirty win tomorrow, I'm sure we would take it."

The inclusion of Andrea Masi at number 10 is a clear sign that Italian coach Nick Mallet is planning ahead in his first season in charge, according to Ireland Eddie O'Sullivan. But the coach claims that the youngster, who is more used to playing at centre, can hurt his side if they are not careful.

It also signals Mallet's intent to take the game to the homeside and target Ireland's halfback combination of Eoin Reddan and Ronan O'Gara.

"Putting Masi at number 10 is probably the big talking point. It will be interesting because he is a good player and a very good footballer," O'Sullivan warned.

"His experience at outhalf wouldn't be as broad as it is at centre but he is certainly a ball-in-hand type player.

"I think it's going to be a game where they will run at us and take us on physically. I think (Masi) is there for that purpose and what I can tell from what I hear is that they see him as a long-term project there."

"When you consider how many caps O'Gara has had and that Reddan has taken the place of (Peter) Stringer, obviously the experience in these positions is to Ireland's advantage," the coach said.

"From Italy's point of view it's important to try these two players (Masi and Travagli). We don't have the luxury of seeing them play for provincial sides together so we have to watch them play for the national team.

"Their coach is trying to introduce them to add variety in the way they play and, in order to do that, they need a ball player that can be dangerous and a threat."