Rob Howley’s men travel to face the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico with skipper Parisse key to any hopes Conor O’Shea’s side might have of victory.
The No 8 will once again lead his side against Wales, and Edwards admits he’s a player the men in red will have to stop.
“You have to try and double team him (Parisse) and squeeze in around his offloads,” he said. “We do a lot of practice of squeezing in and trailing support runners. It’s hard to judge him sometimes because he has played in a team that has regularly lost games.
“If he had been in an All Black team then who knows what level he could have gone to. He’s got a new lease of life under Conor. Let’s hope he enjoys the Six Nations, but not on Sunday.”
Wales begin their search for a first Six Nations title since 2013 against the Italians having thrashed them in the final round of fixtures in each of the last two years.
The introduction of bonus points into this year’s championship is likely to see an increase in the number of tries scored, something Edwards accepts is good for the game.
“We know there are now more tries being scored,” said Wales’ defensive technician. “Everything is going the way of attack in terms of rules. England averaged over 30 points a game throughout 2016. If you can keep a team under 20 points then, it’s a good day at the office.
“If you can keep a top-four team under 25 points, then you’ve done well.”
Wales’ main fitness concern ahead of the trip to Rome is No 8 Taulupe Faletau. The Bath forward is struggling to recover from a knee injury suffered on club duty on Christmas Eve.
“We are going to wait till Wednesday night to decide if he will be declared fit for this weekend,” Edwards added on the 26-year-old’s fitness race.
“You want your best players fit and ready, so we are very hopeful he will be fit for Sunday. But if he’s not right, we will have somebody else coming in who is fit and ready to go.”
