A cautionary tale, La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) won best foreign language film at the Oscars. It has little to do with sport, a brief calico scene, but it is a visually stunning glimpse into the alcoves of Rome.

On collecting the gold miniature statue, director Paolo Sorrentino, a Napoli fan, thanked "Federico Fellini, Martin Scorsese and Diego Armando Maradona".

They are nothing but passionate.

Yesterday afternoon Marco Bortolami sat before us, muted by Italian standards, his use of hand gestures all but ceasing when he switched to the more vulgar English.

The Brian O’Driscoll issue was raised. Maradona is the greatest footballer of all time. Is O’Driscoll rugby’s equivalent?

“Well, he is one of the greatest in rugby. The way he has performed throughout his career is amazing. It is very difficult to keep the same level of performance for 15 years. It has been a pleasure to play against him many, many times.”

Consistently defeated since overcoming an injury-ravaged Ireland at the Stadio Olimpico last March, Bortolami believes Italy can do "something special" against what he feels is the best side in the Six Nations.

“We have to do our job, turn up and implement our game plan. I don’t think they are going to change the way they play because Brian is playing his 140th game . . . but we’ll try to destroy this party for him.

The perfect villains for this piece of sporting drama then.

Odds that would fit snugly beside that of Maradona's Napoli in the 1980s. No Sergio Parisse and a 21-point handicap with the bookmakers, it's the type of situation the Azzurri relish.

"I think Ireland are sure they will win this game but they lost last year in Rome. We lost narrowly to Scotland last week and sometimes that is the best ingredients of the Italian team to perform well. I think we are [the] underdog . . . but we expect to play a proper game and put them under pressure. We have to do that. If we let them play, they are a very dangerous side [and] they will win."