Six Nations 2013: greatness calls Italy captain Sergio Parisse despite defeat to England at Twickenham Stuart Lancaster could see the alchemy. "I think Sergio Parisse's performance was outstanding," said the England coach. And around him as a leader the rest of the team grew. And grew. Startlingly, by the finish, England were holding on, Parisse barking and directing their assaults towards the line like a Roman traffic cop. Sadly, for him, the effort fell short. "Sadly" because it was entirely possible to feel sympathy for someone who yet again had played so supremely only to end on the losing side. But then, it was ever thus for the great man. Ever since he was thrown to the wolves against the All Blacks in a 64-10 defeat 11 years ago, he has been fighting fires for Italy, the Red Adair of world rugby. This was his 94th Test and his 66th defeat but it was the sort of performance to leave you wondering how many of the 27 victories he has helped engineer for Italy would have happened without his brilliance. It is great to see Parisse when he is starting a few fires of his own as he did yesterday, making you wonder how much greater his reputation would be if he was playing constantly on the front foot for, say, one of the southern hemisphere nations. In the summer, he will play for the Barbarians against the Lions in Hong Kong but you cannot help imagining how this colossus would fare if he was eligible to wear the red shirt. Daydreams, daydreams. Yet if is the measure of a great player is that he can lift the standard of all those around him, then Parisse remains a true champion. Andrea Masi at full-back was tremendous, chosen by Lawrence Dallaglio as his man of the match, and Luciano Orquera began to again resemble the scourge of the French. Yet it was Parisse who was truly the game's stand-out performer. To see him soaring high and backwards to make a perfectly timed one-handed line out flick, or charging off the base of the scrum, or sprinting tirelessly half way down the field to chase a high ball and to scare the life out of Alex Goode, was to recognise a seemingly omnipresent force. It was also instructive to see that the ban for supposedly insulting the referee during that game for Stade Francais had in no way affected his fondness for a chat with officialdom during the game. Parisse, as befits a supposed 6ft 5in model of sophistication, may have vehemently denied offering oaths to the referee that night but his opponents know all about the devilment in this warrior. And his greatest strength? It was as his old Stade Francais pal James Haskell noted: "Sergio has total confidence in his own ability and that's why he's so relaxed, because he knows he's a great player with great speed, great footwork and a wonderful ability to move." Yes, the great players always know they are great and here the whole array of his mastery and ferocity was on show once more. Forza Sergio! The Azzurri will never be a lost cause while the world's best No 8 keeps believing.