Peter O'Mahony was part of the last Ireland team that lost a match to Italy and says he knows too well that targeting a bonus-point win would be putting the cart before the horse.
As Declan Kidney's reign came to an end in 2013 a raggle-taggle team suffered yellow cards and injuries in Rome and fell to a 22-15 defeat. O'Mahony, who captains Ireland tomorrow for the first time in a championship game, had to fill in on the wing.
It wasn't pretty and the memory is still fresh for the 29-year-old who captained the Lions in the first Test against New Zealand in 2017.
"I remember doing media after that game," he recalled of the 2013 defeat.
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"I got a shiver down my spine. You just don't like losing, it doesn't matter whether it's in Rome or at home.
"There are big days out there when you win things, but it's funny, the days you lose are the days that stand out at times.
"It shouldn't be the way, but that's how it is. We'll be looking for a big performance tomorrow.
"We understand how difficult it is every time you come to Rome, we know the physicality required."
"[A bonus-point win] not something that I think anyone on the team can afford to think about for any game in the Six Nations; it's an incredibly competitive competition.
"If you go looking down the line you'll go wrong somewhere, 100%. Teams are too good and the competition is too competitive.
"Tomorrow, it's going to start from the first minute and it's going to be about going to the very last one. So it's all about preparing for that."
While that shock loss will serve as a warning, deep down Ireland know that they are capable of taking Conor O'Shea's men for the five points.
With championship hopes hanging by a thread and all but over should England beat Wales in this afternoon's game, O'Mahony said he didn't think that the result would affect the mood in the camp.
"I don't think so," said the Munster flanker, who will win his 56th cap tomorrow as he leads out the team for the seventh time.
"Guys will sit down and watch it if they want. If guys don't want to and want to head off for coffee, they'll head off for coffee. You'd imagine a lot of guys will.
"I will, 100%, yeah. Obviously, guys love watching rugby. It would be strange if you didn't have an interest in it. It's part and parcel of it.
'It's nice to have your game finished and watch teams after your game but that's the way the fixtures fall, you have to sit through a few fixtures sometimes."
Follow Italy v Ireland (3pm) via our liveblog on RTÉ.ie/sport and the News Now app, or listen to live national radio commentary on 2fm.
