Ireland Under-20s captain Éanna McCarthy said they will regroup to come back to Italy in the summer and have a crack at the Under-20s World Championship.
But the disappointment of a first ever Six Nations loss to Italy, falling 15-12 at the Stadio di Monigo in Treviso, was compounded when it emerged that a late bonus point grabbed by Scotland in a 45-40 loss to the new champions France means that Ireland finish bottom of the Under-20s Six Nations for the first time in history.
And while they can have few complaints after losing four games for the first time in a Six Nations campaign, McCarthy said they will come back stronger for the World Championship when they will be in the same pool as Italy.
“I think it’s just back to the drawing board. And for the World Cup, I think just train the way we want to play more. The World Cup is big for us and as I said after the last game, we are building towards the World Cup now already,” said the Connacht back rower.
“So I think tonight, it was kind of a poor performance for us, but then we can definitely work on it. There is some good stuff to take from that.
“The coaching staff, everyone around us, they all know exactly what we’re meant to do, and they’re very high performing. So they’re driving the standards they want. So I think it’s just the players, we need to drive the same standards then and drive on from here now.”