But despite their 13-point advantage, Caerphilly coach Mark Ring says his side are still the underdogs to qualify going into the return match.
A mixture of injuries, visa problems and work commitments has left Ring’s squad looking thin on the ground.
“The tie is far from being over and it’s going to be an intriguing match,” admitted Ring.
“They are a highly organised side, their lineout is destructive, they’re slick behind the scrum and their game-plan is very destructive.
“We’ve not been at all consistent on the road, in fact we haven’t won away from home all season, so that speaks volumes of the task ahead.”
Ring was disappointed by the amount of errors that his side gifted the Italians and he has warned his side that a repeat performance will see them booted out of the tournament.
“Although we won the game by 13 points I still wasn’t happy after the game. We gifted them 14 points and we could have had at least a couple more tries and that would have settled the game.
“Instead, we’ve got one hell of a game on our hands. I don’t want to play our chances down as we’ve got a lot of spirit but there are a lot of things to work on.
“We need to work hard on our ball retention, cut out our unforced errors, take advantage of any opportunities and make sure we kick consistently.”
The Caerphilly coach will be warning his players that they can’t rest on their laurels going into this game.
“It’s 0-0 again. We’ll just be looking to win the game and won’t be doing anything differently.
“I think the key is, the longer we can keep it at 0-0 the better – if we concede some early scores then I know my boys will start to panic.
“But if we can keep them at bay for as long as possible then we should start to come into the game.”
With a potential lucrative semi-final only a game away Ring knows the importance of this game to Caerphilly RFC.
“We’re a part-time team and even to get this far is great. I realise the importance and I hope the players understand the magnitude of the tie.”
