The days of 'once off' performances from Italy, or opposition sides having a bad day handing them good results, look to be coming to an end after another fine display from the Azzuri against Ireland on Saturday.
Despite five tries from Ireland and lots more impressive attacking, Italy pushed them to the limit, and were not far off sensationally ruining their Grand Slam hopes.
Speaking at the The Tackle Your Feelings podcast launch, James Lowe made sure to lavish praise in Italian side, and dispel any notion that the close encounter was because of a poor showing from his side.
I'm glad you guys are seeing it that way because it wasn't us having a bad day by any account.
Italy are a beast who need to be, you know, you need to properly properly do your homework against because they're gonna rip some teams up, it's only a matter of time.
The two performances, I mean, when you saw them home against France, like I said earlier, you thought France had a bad day, they didn't have a bad day, they were put under pressure.
On the weekend we went in with a plan and they whacked us in the nose, you know, they they stood up and they made sure that we were going to have to earn a victory away from home and we really, really did there.
They found they've got an identity to want to attack from everywhere, but they're so big and physical.
James Lowe Praises Italy For Making It Very Tough For Ireland In Rome
25 February 2023; Ryan Baird, left, and James Lowe of Ireland celebrate at the final whistle of the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between Italy and Ireland at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
READ HERE: James Lowe Gives Heartwarming Interview With Young Fan After Win Over Ulster
"They run perfect lines and when you see some of the moves, the decision making at the line, Brex is amazing with ball in hand," continued Lowe.
"Garbisi was back and then Tommaso was on the bench as well, when he came on he was still running around and so was Capuozzo and both the wingers. That's before I even get into how physical they were on d.
"Man, the World Cup, I think they're probably gonna push a lot of teams, and you always talk about they've got passion but will fade in the last 20 minutes, that wasn't the case on Saturday.
"I think there was 20 minutes between minute, 45 and 65 when the game was properly properly in the balance and, you know, we're fortunate enough to come out the other end.
"But man, they're they're a proper, proper team now, coached very well, and they've all got a collective identity that they all understand.
"And, like I said, my body is very, very sore still, there's a reason for that."
Lowe's back-three partner, Hugo Keenan, put in yet another fabulous display at fullback, and showed another side to his game by staving off multiple Italian defenders on his way to a first-half try.
A strong contender for Ireland's most improved player over the last couple of seasons - a frightening thought given that he came into the side at a high level - Lowe also spoke about the improvement in the fullback's kicking game, which he (jokingly) said was 'horrific' not along ago.
His backfield cover is exceptional and it makes my job a lot easier.
Makes ten's and nine's who are also in the backfield a lot easier, and he is a very good communicator.
He he runs good lines of attack, that's why he scored that try. He's a student of the game, he's a proper little nerd I guess when it comes to it, he's always watching things to his game.
If you told me a year ago that he'd be hitting 50:22s I would have told you that he was gonna shin it into row Z because his kicking was horrific and now you look at him now.
The thing with playing with Hugo is that he makes people around him better because he does a lot of the, I guess the donkey work that goes unseen in terms of backfield coverage.
His speed to getting set is also very, very good on attack, so he creates the extra man and like I said, he does a lot of work that goes unseen to the are people sitting at home.
But to play with them, I'm very, very fortunate because we are two very, very different athletes.
Don't write anything nice about Hugo, his Mum hates me.
The Tackle Your Feelings podcast is hosted by Dr. Hannah McCormack - Episodes 1 and 2 are now available - with a new episode released every Thursday.
The series will comprise of seven episodes in total, with guests such as Andrew Trimble, Joey Carbery and Eimear Considine, sharing their personal insights into taking control of their own mental health whilst balancing the demands of elite sport.
SEE ALSO: Andy Farrell Is Worried His Mother Will Give Out To Him After Ireland's Win Over Italy
