Sergio Parisse clocked up his 66th Six Nations appearance yesterday to surpass the previous record he shared with Brian O’Driscoll.
But, while the Irishman collected Grand Slams and Triple Crowns along the way, Parisse has enjoyed none of those glories.
Indeed, while clocking up his 135 international appearances, he has been on the losing side on more than 100 occasions. No surprise, then, that he comes across as well-rehearsed in sounding philosophical.
Yesterday, after being on the wrong end of a 33-20 beating at Murrayfield, the 35-year-old – who could well have played his last game in Scotland – was still able to pick some positives out of the game, mostly with respect to how Italy finished their Six Nations opener.
"With possession we are dangerous and can score tries but Scotland deserved the win. They dominated the game,” he admitted.
Parisse continued: “The guys from the bench, they had a good impact on the game. When you play 80 minutes, and you see the score is gone, maybe we just released a little bit and played with some freedom.
“Maybe Scotland could have scored a few more tries. But we kept the ball, and kept fighting. We scored two tries from our own 22, just by keeping the ball. Obviously it’s a shame because it’s at the end of the game and the result was gone.
“But it was good for the team, and the spirit of the team, to finish well. Against Wales we have to go in with this attitude, to keep the ball, not give them the possession, because today we saw against Scotland when you defend and defend, at some moment, you will concede tries.
“We let Scotland have too much possession in the first half at this level.”
As for his own record-breaking appearance, Parisse almost downplayed the moment.
"Becoming the most capped player in the Six Nations is a good personal achievement.
"Now I’m just trying to move forward and enjoy this tournament.
"I'm a bit frustrated by this defeat but it's important to focus on the next game now."
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