His only concern is the team's ability to maintain their vigour for 80 minutes rather than falling off the pace towards the end as they did a number of times last season.

"Certainly I can’t say my team have a chance to win this tournament," said Berbizier.

"But things have improved a lot in the past 12 months and we are certainly going in to this Six Nations with high hopes.

"We are aiming to win a game, maybe more. I feel the gap between us and the other teams is very close now, but to win a Six Nations game against a great opponent such as a France, England or Ireland, we need more than a great game display.

"We really need so many different ingredients, such as to stay competitive for the whole game, a bit of luck and great determination – and maybe one of these teams will encounter a bad day."

"For example, England at present are facing so many problems, but I still believe they have a great squad and I will be not be surprised if they pull back and play a great tournament.

"My desire is very simple – I want my team to play at their very best in every game, and then we will see what happens."

Italy made a much greater impression on last year's tournament than their single point would suggest, and Berbizier thinks that the just rewards are soon to be forthcoming.

Italy were competitive against Australia in the November Tests, which represents another step forward for Berbizier's team.

"Last year we showed a great rugby display, playing five good games, but at the end we got only a point," said the former French scrum-half.

"I believe if we were a bit more careful in small details and keep competitive for the whole 80 minutes things could be different.

"This year we are playing the first game at home against the French, who as always are one of the favourites to grab the trophy, but they must be careful because in the first game surprises are always behind every corner.

"Our main target is to start in style to give us the right confidence for the other games.

"There [in November] we managed to play simple rugby without stress and suffocating tactics, but were capable of challenging whichever opponents we came across.

"So now we have found a game that reflects the identity of our squad and this is very important for us, even though we know the road is still long."